Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Key Points

• Melco Resorts & Entertainment has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a shift in market sentiment towards the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Zacks Research have upgraded their ratings for Melco, showing mixed opinions about its future performance.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.23, exceeding expectations, along with a revenue increase of 14.5% year-over-year.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on MLCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $7.20 to $9.50 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Susquehanna increased their target price on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, CLSA upgraded Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $8.15.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,753,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,290,443. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.70 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.26 and a 200 day moving average of $7.24. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 52-week low of $4.55 and a 52-week high of $10.15.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.14. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Melco Resorts & Entertainment will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Melco Resorts & Entertainment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 85,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 4,815 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 133.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 642,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,721,000 after buying an additional 367,652 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 429,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,262,000 after buying an additional 75,935 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 1,166.0% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 147,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 135,723 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 759.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 128,000 shares of the company's stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 113,100 shares during the period. 39.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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