Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Trading Down 6.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) traded down 6.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $6.30 and last traded at $6.3160. 737,435 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 1,488,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MLCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.70 target price (down from $11.00) on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Melco Resorts & Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.85.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.63.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.10. Melco Resorts & Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 23.00% and a net margin of 2.06%.The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Melco Resorts & Entertainment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 158,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 49,400 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 3rd quarter worth about $113,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 23,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,677,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment during the 3rd quarter worth $406,000. 39.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Company Profile

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ: MLCO) is a developer, owner and operator of integrated resort destinations in Asia and Europe. The company’s portfolio spans casino gaming, hotel accommodations, retail, dining and entertainment facilities. Melco’s properties feature a mix of luxury hotels, award-winning restaurants, high-limit gaming salons and entertainment venues, catering to a broad range of leisure and business travelers.

In Macau, Melco owns and operates flagship properties including City of Dreams Macau, Altira Macau and Studio City.