Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $72.00. The stock had previously closed at $61.26, but opened at $55.50. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Las Vegas Sands shares last traded at $52.4210, with a volume of 7,223,579 shares changing hands.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on LVS. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $64.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, Director Irwin Chafetz sold 30,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $2,092,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 70,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,949,402.24. The trade was a 29.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,333,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,576,407,273.96. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,982,053 shares of company stock valued at $262,526,399. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Las Vegas Sands News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Las Vegas Sands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue and EPS beat consensus; consolidated results highlighted strong top-line growth and adjusted property EBITDA. Las Vegas Sands Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Marina Bay Sands delivered a record quarter and was the primary earnings driver, supporting growth outlook for Singapore operations. MBS Q4 earnings surpass S$1 billion to set new record
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns: company announced a $0.30 quarterly dividend (20% increase) and repurchased $500M of stock this quarter — supportive for income and EPS per share. Las Vegas Sands Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts reacted with several price-target increases and model updates after the results, signaling continued Wall Street confidence in the recovery trajectory. Las Vegas Sands Analysts Boost Their Forecasts Following Upbeat Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts adjusted specific targets/rating stances (e.g., Wells Fargo moved target to $68 with an equal-weight view; Stifel trimmed its target to $72 but keeps a buy rating), producing mixed near-term guidance signals. LVS price target lowered by Stifel
• Negative Sentiment: Key negative catalyst: Macao adjusted-property EBITDA margins missed expectations and declined ~390 basis points — the margin shortfall is the primary reason traders are selling despite the headline beat. Why Is LVS Stock Dropping After Beating Estimates?
• Negative Sentiment: Market coverage highlights the “Macao problem” narrative — outlets note robust results overall but emphasize weaker Macao margins and cost/hold variability as reasons for the share decline. Las Vegas Sands Stock Tumbles 10%. It Has a Macau Problem.
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling activity has been reported in recent periods, which may amplify downward pressure during sentiment-driven moves. QuiverQuant: LVS Stock Falls on Q4 2025 Earnings

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,072,014 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,874,063,000 after buying an additional 1,822,806 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $436,883,000 after buying an additional 2,698,398 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,902,619 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $430,863,000 after acquiring an additional 459,821 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,823,966 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $382,294,000 after acquiring an additional 31,153 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $293,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,823 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 14.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.08. The firm has a market cap of $35.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.97.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 45.25%.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.