Short Interest in Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) Increases By 61.6%

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 9,390,000 shares, a growth of 61.6% from the February 13th total of 5,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Melco Resorts & Entertainment

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 57.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 655,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,107,000 after purchasing an additional 238,884 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 239,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 133,086 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $720,000. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 29,652,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,688,000 after acquiring an additional 456,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $858,000. Institutional investors own 39.62% of the company’s stock.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.63. 2,814,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,379,373. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.02. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 1-year low of $4.78 and a 1-year high of $8.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $5.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Melco Resorts & Entertainment from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $6.70 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup cut Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $10.00 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.24.

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.