Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Monarch Casino & Resort from "hold" to "buy"; analysts remain mixed overall (2 Buys, 4 Holds) with a MarketBeat consensus target of $109.50.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: Q1 EPS $1.52 vs. $1.15 expected and revenue $136.6M (+8.9% YoY), with a net margin of 19.62% and ROE of 19.98%.
• Valuation and ownership: Shares opened at $114.98 (52-week high $118), market cap about $2.04B and P/E ~19.5; insiders own 25.52% and the CEO recently sold 2,000 shares.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MCRI. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Monarch Casino & Resort presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.50.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:MCRI opened at $114.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49 and a beta of 1.30. Monarch Casino & Resort has a fifty-two week low of $76.00 and a fifty-two week high of $118.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $98.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.07.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $136.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.49 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a net margin of 19.62% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Monarch Casino & Resort

In other news, CEO John Farahi sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $198,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 536,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,094,096. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 25.52% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCRI. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 389,306 shares of the company's stock worth $41,204,000 after buying an additional 142,621 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 188,498 shares of the company's stock worth $19,951,000 after buying an additional 82,035 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the 4th quarter worth $7,244,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 178,976 shares of the company's stock worth $18,943,000 after buying an additional 70,185 shares during the period. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the 3rd quarter worth $6,192,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.37% of the company's stock.

Monarch Casino & Resort Company Profile

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc is a publicly traded owner and operator of an integrated casino resort in Reno, Nevada. The company's flagship property, the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, features a full-service casino floor with table games, slot machines, and sports betting, complemented by a diverse portfolio of amenities. Guests can choose from over 800 rooms and suites, dine at multiple on-site restaurants and bars, unwind at the full-service spa and salon, or enjoy live entertainment in the property's showroom.

Monarch's revenue streams are diversified across gaming operations, hotel accommodations, food and beverage services, and convention and meeting facilities.

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