Melco Resorts & Entertainment Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:MLCO)

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 26,378 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 519% compared to the average volume of 4,260 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 47.5% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 52,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 16,901 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 173.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 602,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,491,000 after acquiring an additional 381,653 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 22.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,169,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,728,000 after acquiring an additional 217,520 shares during the period. Finally, Solel Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Solel Partners LP now owns 1,328,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,907,000 after purchasing an additional 338,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.62% of the company’s stock.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of MLCO stock opened at $5.79 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.39 and a 200-day moving average of $6.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.05. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 52-week low of $4.78 and a 52-week high of $9.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $7.50 price objective (down previously from $9.60) on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.40.

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.