Melco Resorts & Entertainment Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:MLCO)

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 9,922 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 165% compared to the average daily volume of 3,751 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MLCO shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $9.60 target price on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Melco Resorts & Entertainment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.78.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:MLCO opened at $6.54 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $7.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.84. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 52 week low of $6.10 and a 52 week high of $14.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.38 and a beta of 1.11.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.51) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 224.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Melco Resorts & Entertainment will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Melco Resorts & Entertainment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLCO. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 6.1% in the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 29,336,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,442 shares during the last quarter. TORQ CAPITAL MANAGEMENT HK Ltd boosted its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 268.5% in the fourth quarter. TORQ CAPITAL MANAGEMENT HK Ltd now owns 1,819,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,878 shares during the last quarter. Brigade Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,253,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 107.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,914,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,940,000 after purchasing an additional 992,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 247.0% in the third quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,809,000 after purchasing an additional 849,949 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.62% of the company’s stock.

About Melco Resorts & Entertainment

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.