Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $73.00. The stock had previously closed at $61.26, but opened at $55.50. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Las Vegas Sands shares last traded at $52.4210, with a volume of 7,223,579 shares trading hands.

LVS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Argus boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Seaport Research Partners decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $64.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.23.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,576,407,273.96. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $79,925,982.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,582,053 shares of company stock valued at $238,846,399. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Las Vegas Sands News

Here are the key news stories impacting Las Vegas Sands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on revenue and EPS, driven by record Marina Bay Sands EBITDA — this supports the company’s top-line momentum and underpins analyst upside revisions. Reuters: Quarterly profit rises
• Positive Sentiment: Management declared a 20% higher quarterly dividend ($0.30), raising the yield (~2.3%) and returning cash to shareholders — a tangible near-term support for the stock. Dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokers raised price targets or reiterated bullish ratings after the quarter (Deutsche Bank to $77, HSBC to $73, Macquarie reaffirmed Outperform), signaling analyst conviction in recovery potential. Benzinga: analyst reactions
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman reduced its target from $80 to $73 but kept a Buy rating; Stifel trimmed its target to $72 while maintaining Buy — these are adjustments to reflect Q4 details but still leave sizable upside in consensus targets. MarketScreener: Goldman adjustment
• Negative Sentiment: Macao EBITDA margins fell meaningfully (reported ~390 bps decline), and management signaled margin recovery is a focus — the margin miss triggered a large sell-off and renewed concern about competitive pressure and market concentration in Macau. Forbes: Macao margin miss
• Negative Sentiment: Press pieces highlight a “Macau problem” and concentration risk — combined coverage (Barron’s, WSJ, Motley Fool) amplified investor selling despite the quarter’s headline beat. Barron’s: Macau problem

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,251 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 29,032 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 110.0% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,576 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 13,395 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 41,904 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after buying an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $63.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.97.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 87.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 51.28%.

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.