Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Macquarie Infrastructure reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS opened at $57.10 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.57. The company has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $14,712,937.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,244,695.68. This represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 3,082,053 shares of company stock worth $207,130,199 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,072,014 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,874,063,000 after buying an additional 1,822,806 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% during the second quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $436,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,698,398 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,902,619 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $430,863,000 after purchasing an additional 459,821 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,823,966 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $382,294,000 after purchasing an additional 31,153 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,893,031 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $513,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,206 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Las Vegas Sands

Here are the key news stories impacting Las Vegas Sands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board names Patrick Dumont as chairman & CEO (effective March 1). Dumont, the company’s president and COO since 2021, will take over top leadership — a succession that signals continuity of current strategy and operations and reduces near‑term governance uncertainty. Las Vegas Sands Board of Directors Appoints Patrick Dumont as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades: Zacks Research raised multiple EPS forecasts across quarters and fiscal years (including FY2026 to ~$3.08, FY2027 to ~$3.34 and FY2028 to ~$3.66, plus several quarterly boosts). Although Zacks still carries a “Hold” rating, higher estimates point to improved earnings momentum that can support the stock’s valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Sands China awarded consecutive “Top Employer” certification — recognition for HR practices and long employee tenure in Macao. This is positive for retention and operations but is a longer‑horizon, lower‑impact item for near‑term stock moves. Sands China Awarded 2nd Consecutive “Top Employer” Certification

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.