Melco Resorts & Entertainment Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:MLCO)

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 7,366 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 126% compared to the average daily volume of 3,257 put options.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Trading Up 2.3 %

Melco Resorts & Entertainment stock opened at $8.17 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.03. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 12 month low of $4.78 and a 12 month high of $9.56.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.05). Melco Resorts & Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 11.59% and a negative net margin of 3.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Melco Resorts & Entertainment will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MLCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $10.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Melco Resorts & Entertainment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 243.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 5,191 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment during the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Pitcairn Co. purchased a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 1st quarter worth $80,000. 39.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Melco Resorts & Entertainment

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited, through its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates casino gaming and entertainment casino resort facilities in Asia. It owns and operates City of Dreams, an integrated casino resort that has 500 gaming tables and 800 gaming machines; approximately 1,400 hotel rooms and suites; a wet stage performance theater with approximately 2,000 seats; approximately 30 restaurants and bars, and 150 retail outlets; and recreation and leisure facilities, including health and fitness clubs, swimming pools, spa and salons, and banquet and meeting facilities.