Caesars Entertainment Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CZR)

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 18,430 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 46% compared to the average volume of 12,586 call options.

Caesars Entertainment Price Performance

CZR opened at $30.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.64. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.74 and a beta of 1.77. Caesars Entertainment has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $31.58.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.24). Caesars Entertainment had a negative net margin of 4.19% and a negative return on equity of 7.88%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.54) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Caesars Entertainment will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Caesars Entertainment

In other news, Director Michael E. Pegram sold 16,897 shares of Caesars Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.46, for a total value of $497,785.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edmund L. Quatmann, Jr. sold 81,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total transaction of $2,393,962.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,019.05. This trade represents a 81.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 293,463 shares of company stock worth $8,609,241 over the last 90 days. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caesars Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CZR. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 246,899,900.0% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,938,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,500,000 after acquiring an additional 4,937,998 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 121.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,141,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,430 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Caesars Entertainment by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,193,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,622,000 after purchasing an additional 3,716,148 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caesars Entertainment during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,050,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Caesars Entertainment in the 4th quarter worth about $65,492,000. 91.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CZR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $35.00) on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a report on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial cut Caesars Entertainment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caesars Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.53.

Caesars Entertainment Company Profile

Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a leading integrated gaming and hospitality company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company owns and operates a global portfolio of resorts, casinos, and entertainment venues designed to deliver comprehensive hospitality experiences. Its business activities span hotel accommodations, gaming operations, food and beverage services, live events, and convention services, with a focus on delivering luxury and entertainment to both leisure and business travelers.

The company traces its lineage to the founding of Harrah’s by William F.