Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Macquarie raised their price target on the stock from $57.00 to $58.00. The stock had previously closed at $43.43, but opened at $47.50. Las Vegas Sands shares last traded at $47.56, with a volume of 2,077,564 shares trading hands.

LVS has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.25.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,129,724. This represents a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612,975 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during 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 buying an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $283,284,000 after buying an additional 77,807 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,659,427 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $133,876,000 after buying an additional 57,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $79,591,000 after acquiring an additional 357,234 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 10.6 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.94 and its 200 day moving average is $46.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $34.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced 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 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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.