Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.23, but opened at $7.87. Melco Resorts & Entertainment shares last traded at $8.02, with a volume of 3,040,563 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MLCO. Citigroup upgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $6.25 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $4.60 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $7.20 to $9.50 in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $5.70 to $6.60 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.11.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Up 1.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 61.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.35 and a 200-day moving average of $5.81.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.13. Melco Resorts & Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 1.28%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. Melco Resorts & Entertainment's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLCO. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 274.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 362,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 265,848 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 133.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 642,726 shares of the company's stock worth $3,721,000 after purchasing an additional 367,652 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at $649,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,398,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,886,000 after buying an additional 1,150,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 353,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,045,000 after buying an additional 113,328 shares in the last quarter. 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.