Las Vegas Sands Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:LVS)

Key Points

• Unusually high options activity: Investors purchased 33,745 Las Vegas Sands call options, a 393% increase over the average volume of 6,846 contracts.
• Analysts remain moderately bullish: Eleven analysts rate the stock a Buy, six rate it Hold, and one rates it Sell, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $61.88 price target.
• Recent performance was mixed: Las Vegas Sands missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while its stock traded at $47.73. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing a 2.5% yield.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 33,745 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 393% compared to the average volume of 6,846 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $78.50 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $47.73. 7,018,045 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,925,640. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $44.21 and a 1-year high of $70.45. The company has a market cap of $31.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.83.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 117.08% and a net margin of 12.59%.Las Vegas Sands's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 46.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 710,484 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $32,817,000 after acquiring an additional 101,891 shares in the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 9.5% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 6,695 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.5% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,578 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.1% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 84,871 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $3,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 822,268 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $37,981,000 after purchasing an additional 255,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.

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