Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Price

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $51.00 to $49.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the casino operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.38% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.8 %

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $44.39 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $56.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $31.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $4,518,000 after acquiring an additional 44,223 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 8,032 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $27,590,000 after buying an additional 136,859 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People’s Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.