Short Interest in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) Declines By 34.8%

Key Points

• Short interest in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. decreased by 34.8% in September, falling from 315,000 shares to 205,300 shares.
• Analyst ratings show a mix of sentiment, with Wells Fargo upgrading the stock to "equal weight" and raising the price target to $89.00, while Zacks cut its rating from "strong-buy" to "hold".
• Monarch Casino & Resort reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.44, exceeding estimates by $0.22, and has a current market capitalization of $1.84 billion.

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 205,300 shares, a drop of 34.8% from the August 31st total of 315,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 121,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 121,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research cut Monarch Casino & Resort from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.20.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock traded down $3.00 on Monday, hitting $100.70. The stock had a trading volume of 36,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,341. Monarch Casino & Resort has a twelve month low of $69.99 and a twelve month high of $113.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $102.54 and a 200 day moving average of $90.07.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $136.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.76 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 18.70%. Equities analysts expect that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monarch Casino & Resort

In other Monarch Casino & Resort news, CEO John Farahi sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.78, for a total transaction of $211,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 560,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,248,435.80. The trade was a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig F. Sullivan sold 12,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.55, for a total transaction of $1,287,710.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monarch Casino & Resort

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCRI. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 147.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 222,770 shares of the company's stock worth $17,320,000 after purchasing an additional 132,599 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,872,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 40.1% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 343,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,712,000 after acquiring an additional 98,371 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the 1st quarter valued at $5,904,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 20.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 391,868 shares of the company's stock worth $33,877,000 after acquiring an additional 65,272 shares during the period. 62.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc engages in the ownership and operation of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel and casino facility in Reno, Nevada, and the Monarch Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.

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