Las Vegas Sands Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 30,405 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 47% compared to the typical volume of 20,661 call options.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $44.01 on Thursday. Las Vegas Sands has a 12-month low of $36.62 and a 12-month high of $56.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The company has a market cap of $31.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.66.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 target price (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 203,732 shares of company stock valued at $10,861,707 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612,975 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 987.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,549,615 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $245,570,000 after acquiring an additional 5,039,072 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 4,924,340 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $247,891,000 after acquiring an additional 977,636 shares during the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,370,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,085,045 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $92,266,000 after acquiring an additional 483,564 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

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.