Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Reaches New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) shares recently hit a new 52-week high of $9.97, with an average price target of $8.15 from analysts, suggesting a Moderate Buy consensus.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.23, significantly exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenues up 14.5% year-over-year to $1.33 billion.
• Recent institutional trading activity includes significant buys, with 39.62% of the stock now owned by institutional investors, indicating growing confidence in Melco's performance.

Shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.97 and last traded at $9.90, with a volume of 3496103 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $5.70 to $6.60 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $7.20 to $9.50 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $8.15.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.72 and its 200 day moving average is $6.74. The company has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 76.51 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the second quarter worth $38,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the first quarter worth $34,000. Solstein Capital LLC raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the second quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the first quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other 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.