Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Melco Resorts & Entertainment reached a new 52-week high stock price of $10.12, with its last trade at $10.00 and a trading volume of approximately 2.3 million shares.
• Several investment firms upgraded their ratings and price targets for Melco, with four analysts rating it as a "Buy" and raising the average price target to $8.15.
• In its latest quarterly earnings, Melco reported earnings per share of $0.23, significantly beating estimates, alongside a revenue increase of 14.5% year-over-year, totaling $1.33 billion.

Shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $10.12 and last traded at $10.00, with a volume of 2298066 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.94.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Susquehanna boosted 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $7.20 to $9.50 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $5.70 to $6.60 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $8.15.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Melco Resorts & Entertainment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 5.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 133.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 642,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,721,000 after purchasing an additional 367,652 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 274.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 362,738 shares of the company's stock worth $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 265,848 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 21.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 429,131 shares of the company's stock worth $2,262,000 after buying an additional 75,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 1,166.0% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 39.62% of the company's stock.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.84. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.93 and a beta of 0.77.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.14. Melco Resorts & Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 1.15%.The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.05 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current 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.