Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Given New $71.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the casino operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.00% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on LVS. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.12.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock traded up $0.23 on Friday, hitting $60.17. 211,247 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,243,876. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.97. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $70.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.71.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $14,712,937.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,244,695.68. This represents a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,182,053 shares of company stock valued at $333,348,399. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,528 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 61,993 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.