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

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 11,297 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 314% compared to the typical volume of 2,727 call options.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Price Performance

NASDAQ MLCO traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $8.17. 3,772,674 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,394,740. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 52-week low of $4.78 and a 52-week high of $9.83. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of -19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.76.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. Melco Resorts & Entertainment had a negative net margin of 3.11% and a negative return on equity of 11.59%. The company's revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.02) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Melco Resorts & Entertainment will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $10.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLCO. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 243.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,324 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 5,191 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the first quarter worth about $56,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment during the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Pitcairn Co. purchased a new position in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment during the first quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 39.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.