Mizuho Lowers Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Price Target to $65.00

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Mizuho from $70.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the casino operator’s stock. Mizuho’s target price suggests a potential upside of 42.98% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on LVS. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.47.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS opened at $45.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.06 and a 200-day moving average of $49.59. The company has a market capitalization of $34.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16. Las Vegas Sands has a 1-year low of $43.77 and a 1-year high of $65.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 41.81%. The company’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,842 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,361 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.