Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Stock Price Down 4.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Melco Resorts & Entertainment's stock fell by 4.6%, trading at $9.51, with a significant drop in trading volume at 53,922 shares compared to the average of nearly 3.8 million shares.
• Despite the recent decline, a number of analysts have upgraded their ratings on Melco Resorts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $8.15.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings growth of 14.5% year-over-year, with an EPS of $0.23, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $0.09.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 4.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $9.65 and last traded at $9.51. 53,922 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 99% from the average session volume of 3,787,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $7.20 to $9.50 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. CLSA raised Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.15.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Down 3.8%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.09 and a 200 day moving average of $6.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.66 and a beta of 0.77.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 1.15%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Melco Resorts & Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 0.4% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 29,760,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,840,000 after buying an additional 108,529 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,081,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,211,000 after buying an additional 83,268 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,946,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 16.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,015,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,700,000 after purchasing an additional 846,504 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 1,819.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,497,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,748,000 after purchasing an additional 5,211,263 shares during the period. 39.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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