JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO)

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $7.70 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $11.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 14.41% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Melco Resorts & Entertainment has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.85.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MLCO opened at $6.73 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $8.19 and its 200 day moving average is $8.63. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 0.66. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 52-week low of $4.55 and a 52-week high of $10.15.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Melco Resorts & Entertainment will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Melco Resorts & Entertainment

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MLCO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 1,819.4% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,497,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,748,000 after buying an additional 5,211,263 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 271.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,473,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,606 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $355,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,000,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 87,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 39.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Melco Resorts & Entertainment

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.