Investors Purchase High Volume of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Call Options (NASDAQ:MLCO)

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 10,232 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,072% compared to the average volume of 873 call options.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MLCO traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $5.50. The stock had a trading volume of 633,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,380,259. The company has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.58. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $4.55 and a fifty-two week high of $10.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $5.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $9.50 price target for the company in a report on Monday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.70 target price (down from $11.00) on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Texas Capital raised shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.06.

Institutional Trading of Melco Resorts & Entertainment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 67.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,198,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,352,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700,980 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 8,335,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,098,000 after buying an additional 231,305 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,015,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,700,000 after buying an additional 846,504 shares during the period. FIL Ltd acquired a new stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,198,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 257.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,864,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,253,000 after buying an additional 2,784,251 shares during the period. 39.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.