Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered Las Vegas Sands’ price target from $61 to $55 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying approximately 45.76% upside from the stock’s $37.73 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 11 Buy ratings and 10 Hold ratings; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $59.10.
• Las Vegas Sands reported quarterly EPS of $0.59, below the $0.76 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.15 billion also missed expectations and declined 0.7% year over year.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $61.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the casino operator's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 45.76% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on LVS. Zacks Research raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.10.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE:LVS traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $37.73. 1,810,284 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,061,017. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27. The firm has a market cap of $24.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.78. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $35.28 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $41.70 and its 200-day moving average is $47.20.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,159,570 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $700,221,000 after purchasing an additional 919,452 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth $107,407,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 74.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,529,236 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $82,395,000 after buying an additional 651,214 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at $40,380,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.9% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,617,148 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $213,266,000 after buying an additional 1,244,943 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp. NYSE: LVS is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, combining hotel accommodations, casinos, convention and exhibition facilities, restaurants, retail outlets, entertainment venues and other leisure amenities. The company serves both mass-market and premium customers through large-scale properties designed to support tourism and business travel.

Las Vegas Sands' principal operations are in Macau and Singapore. Its Macau portfolio includes properties such as The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, Sands Macao and The Plaza Macao.

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