United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Mizuho upgraded United Parks & Resorts to an "outperform" and raised its price target to $47 (from $27), sending shares to gap up — the stock opened at $39.64 versus the prior close of $37.06 and last traded around $39.53 on elevated volume.
• Analyst coverage is mixed — five Buys, five Holds and two Sells — giving a MarketBeat consensus rating of Hold with an average target of $49.50 despite several recent target revisions by major banks.
• The company recently missed quarterly earnings (EPS $0.28 vs. $0.46 expected) and saw revenue decline 2.8% year‑over‑year, even as institutional investors like JPMorgan materially increased their stakes.

United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Mizuho upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to an outperform rating. The stock had previously closed at $37.06, but opened at $39.64. Mizuho now has a $47.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $27.00. United Parks & Resorts shares last traded at $39.53, with a volume of 268,754 shares.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on United Parks & Resorts from $63.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on United Parks & Resorts from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on United Parks & Resorts from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on United Parks & Resorts from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parks & Resorts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in United Parks & Resorts by 105.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 463,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,965,000 after acquiring an additional 237,575 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in United Parks & Resorts during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,876,000. Clark Estates Inc. NY raised its holdings in United Parks & Resorts by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clark Estates Inc. NY now owns 205,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,598,000 after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in United Parks & Resorts during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000,000. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new stake in United Parks & Resorts during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,095,000.

United Parks & Resorts Trading Up 6.7%

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $33.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.14.

United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $373.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.87 million. United Parks & Resorts had a negative return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 10.13%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that United Parks & Resorts Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parks & Resorts Company Profile

United Parks & Resorts, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the ownership and operation of theme parks. Its portfolio includes SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Sesame Place, and Sea Rescue. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL.

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