Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) to Buy

Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $118.00 price target on the casino operator’s stock, up from their previous price target of $105.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 27.90% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Wynn Resorts from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Wynn Resorts from $101.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Wynn Resorts from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Wynn Resorts from $122.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Wynn Resorts in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $120.58.

Wynn Resorts Price Performance

NASDAQ:WYNN opened at $92.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. Wynn Resorts has a 1 year low of $71.63 and a 1 year high of $110.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.10.

Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The casino operator reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $1.15. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Wynn Resorts had a net margin of 7.03% and a negative return on equity of 71.17%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wynn Resorts will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Wynn Resorts

In other news, Director Philip G. Satre acquired 22,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.18 per share, with a total value of $2,046,396.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,195 shares in the company, valued at $3,152,095.10. This trade represents a 185.08 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wynn Resorts

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WYNN. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wynn Resorts by 70.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,971,846 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $380,821,000 after buying an additional 1,644,965 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wynn Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at about $117,352,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Wynn Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at about $101,375,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wynn Resorts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,872,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Wynn Resorts by 27,868.5% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 757,946 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $72,672,000 after purchasing an additional 755,236 shares during the period. 88.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Wynn Resorts

Wynn Resorts, Limited designs, develops, and operates integrated resorts. The company operates through four segments: Wynn Palace, Wynn Macau, Las Vegas Operations, and Encore Boston Harbor. The Wynn Palace segment operates private gaming salons and sky casinos; a luxury hotel tower with suites, and villas, including a health club, spa, salon, and pool; food and beverage outlets; retail space; meeting and convention space; and performance lake and floral art displays.