Brightlight Capital Management LP Purchases New Position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited $MLCO

Key Points

• Brightlight Capital Management LP has acquired a new stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment, purchasing 2,873,100 shares valued at approximately $15.14 million, which represents about 10.2% of its investment portfolio.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in Melco Resorts, with notable increases from Envestnet Asset Management and Invesco Ltd. in the last quarter, highlighting growing institutional interest.
• Melco Resorts & Entertainment recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.23 for the quarter, exceeding estimates and reflecting a 14.5% revenue increase compared to the previous year.

Brightlight Capital Management LP bought a new position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,873,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,141,000. Melco Resorts & Entertainment accounts for about 10.2% of Brightlight Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Brightlight Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.68% of Melco Resorts & Entertainment at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MLCO. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 190.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,930 shares of the company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 28,142 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 216.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 31,745 shares of the company's stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 21,707 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 4th quarter worth $649,000. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 95,939 shares of the company's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 10,491 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 546.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 26,460 shares of the company's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 22,370 shares during the period. 39.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. CLSA raised Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $7.20 to $9.50 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Susquehanna raised their price target on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $8.15.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Up 1.0%

MLCO traded up $0.10 on Wednesday, hitting $10.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,062,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,854,179. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 77.66 and a beta of 0.77. Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited has a 12-month low of $4.55 and a 12-month high of $10.13. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $8.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.76.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Melco Resorts & Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 1.15%.The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.