Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Given New $55.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $55.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the casino operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.36% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on LVS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Argus downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.83.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock traded up $0.54 on Tuesday, hitting $51.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,830,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,755,537. The firm has a market cap of $38.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.36. Las Vegas Sands has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $55.65.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LVS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,107,775 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,918,472,000 after acquiring an additional 209,589 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 27.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 891,796 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $46,124,000 after acquiring an additional 193,110 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 211,320 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $10,929,000 after acquiring an additional 15,216 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.0% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 641,682 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $33,175,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7,647.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 443,325 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $19,617,000 after purchasing an additional 437,603 shares in the last quarter. 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.