Morgan Stanley Upgrades Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) to “Overweight”

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $9.60 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $8.30.

MLCO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $13.75 to $14.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $13.82.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Price Performance

MLCO stock opened at $8.02 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.79. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 52-week low of $6.10 and a 52-week high of $13.91.

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

Institutional Trading of Melco Resorts & Entertainment

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

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Company Profile

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.