Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

MCRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $79.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $73.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.40.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

MCRI stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Thursday, reaching $79.10. The company had a trading volume of 128,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,081. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.78. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 1.73. Monarch Casino & Resort has a twelve month low of $64.50 and a twelve month high of $89.06.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.10. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $137.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Monarch Casino & Resort

In other news, CEO John Farahi sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.50, for a total transaction of $153,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 557,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,641,406. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 24.94% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCRI. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 61.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the 2nd quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. 62.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc engages in the ownership and operation of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel and casino facility in Reno, Nevada, and the Monarch Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.

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