Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Shares Gap Up to $7.24

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $7.24, but opened at $7.50. Melco Resorts & Entertainment shares last traded at $7.40, with a volume of 1,303,721 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MLCO shares. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $13.75 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $8.30 to $9.60 in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.82.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.79. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.24 and a beta of 1.10.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Melco Resorts & Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 7.61% and a negative net margin of 4.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.14) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MLCO. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 12.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 47,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 31,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 247.0% during the 3rd quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,809,000 after buying an additional 849,949 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the third quarter valued at approximately $175,000. 39.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Melco Resorts & Entertainment

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited, through its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates casino gaming and entertainment casino resort facilities in Asia. It owns and operates City of Dreams, an integrated casino resort that has 500 gaming tables and 800 gaming machines; approximately 1,400 hotel rooms and suites; a wet stage performance theater with approximately 2,000 seats; approximately 30 restaurants and bars, and 150 retail outlets; and recreation and leisure facilities, including health and fitness clubs, swimming pools, spa and salons, and banquet and meeting facilities.