Seaport Research Partners Has Lowered Expectations for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Seaport Research Partners cut its price target on Las Vegas Sands to $69 from $72 while maintaining a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 20.27% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage remains largely positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.84, although firms have both raised and lowered targets in recent reports.
• CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares for about $3.29 million on March 17, reducing his ownership by 10.52%, indicating notable insider selling amid analyst optimism.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Seaport Research Partners from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the casino operator's stock. Seaport Research Partners' target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.27% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Macquarie Infrastructure restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.84.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:LVS opened at $57.37 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands has a twelve month low of $32.83 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $55.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.93.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,251 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,207,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 29,032 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 91.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth $414,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 70.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,595 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 7,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands NYSE: LVS is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company's operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company's portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.