Truist Financial Upgrades Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) to Buy

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $100.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $82.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Monarch Casino & Resort from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $79.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $73.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.00.

Monarch Casino & Resort Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of MCRI stock traded up $3.65 on Tuesday, reaching $82.57. The company had a trading volume of 142,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,166. The company has a 50-day moving average of $82.10 and a 200-day moving average of $77.06. Monarch Casino & Resort has a 12 month low of $64.50 and a 12 month high of $89.06. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 1.73.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Farahi sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.70, for a total value of $77,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,059,477.20. This trade represents a 0.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 24.94% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 61.0% in the third 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 period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the 2nd quarter worth about $102,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the 3rd quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort in the 3rd quarter valued at about $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.37% of the company's stock.

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.