Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,010,000 shares, a decline of 17.3% from the August 15th total of 9,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Up 3.3 %

Melco Resorts & Entertainment stock opened at $5.71 on Friday. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 12 month low of $4.78 and a 12 month high of $10.69. The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.84.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Melco Resorts & Entertainment

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MLCO. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 10,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 264,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,961 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 115,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 4,898 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 243.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 5,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the second quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 39.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MLCO shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Melco Resorts & Entertainment from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Melco Resorts & Entertainment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.82.

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.