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

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the casino operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 37.47% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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, January 29th. Macquarie raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.08.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $32.74 on Wednesday. Las Vegas Sands has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The stock has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.64.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,021,205,000 after acquiring an additional 12,304,533 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $730,295,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088,095 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $709,300,000 after purchasing an additional 160,711 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $598,988,000 after buying an additional 1,389,963 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $481,873,000 after buying an additional 2,152,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.