Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Stock Price Down 6.2% – Here’s What Happened

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Down 8.9%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.14 and a 200 day moving average of $8.63. The firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Melco Resorts & Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MLCO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,198,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,352,000 after buying an additional 3,700,980 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. raised its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 8,103,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,313,000 after buying an additional 341,528 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 16.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,015,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,700,000 after acquiring an additional 846,504 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the third quarter valued at about $35,665,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 71,281.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,206,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,233,000 after acquiring an additional 2,203,311 shares during the period. 39.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.