Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Cut to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Melco Resorts & Entertainment has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting reduced investor confidence.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts have mixed views; Citigroup and CLSA have set higher price targets and continue to rate the stock positively.
• Melco recently reported a significant earnings beat with $0.23 EPS against an estimated $0.09, along with a year-over-year revenue increase of 14.5%.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on MLCO. Citigroup upped 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. CLSA raised Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Susquehanna upped 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. Wall Street Zen cut Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $7.20 to $9.50 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.15.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Trading Down 3.9%

NASDAQ MLCO opened at $7.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.62 and a beta of 0.71. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 12 month low of $4.55 and a 12 month high of $10.15. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $9.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.54.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the first quarter worth about $34,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the first quarter worth about $53,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the first quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 74.9% in the second quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 9,340 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.62% of the company's stock.

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.

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