Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock Price

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $51.00 to $49.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the casino operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 10.33% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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. Four equities 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE:LVS opened at $44.41 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after acquiring an additional 5,612,975 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,571,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $481,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in 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 worth $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.