Analyst Update: Wynn Resorts, Dollar Tree, AMC Networks

Analysts are weighing in today on casino operator Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), discount store chain Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR), and media company AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX). Here's a quick look at today's brokerage notes on WYNN, DLTR, and AMCX.

• WYNN is up 2.9% today at $146.16, after Union Gaming initiated coverage with a "buy" rating and $175 price target -- a nearly 20% premium to its current perch. The brokerage firm apparently expects the casino name to break out from its technical funk -- or to flourish in spite of lackluster revenue trends in Macau -- as WYNN has lost 29% in the past 52 weeks. This optimism isn't rare, though, as half of covering analysts rate Wynn Resorts, Limited a "strong buy," with not a single "sell" to be found. Elsewhere, options traders are also upbeat. WYNN's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 1.58 ranks in the 94th annual percentile of its annual range, meaning calls have been bought to open over puts at a faster-than-usual rate.


• DLTR gapped higher this morning -- last seen up 3.5% at $70.22 -- after Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE:FDO) shareholders approved the merger between the two companies. Also boosting DLTR is a price-target hike to $98 from $72 at Barclays, which reiterated its "overweight" opinion. In the stock's options pits, near-term speculators are more put-heavy than normal, according to Dollar Tree, Inc.'s Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.52. This reading sits only 1 percentage point from an annual high.


• AMCX has gained 2.9% today to trade at $66.31, as Nomura upgraded the stock to a "buy" and boosted its price target by $10 to $80. The brokerage firm cited AMC Networks Inc's strong lineup of shows -- including "Better Call Saul," the highly anticipated "Breaking Bad" spinoff -- and its buyout potential. While the equity is off 1.7% on a year-over-year basis, it has outperformed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) in the past three months. If this recent trend continues, AMCX could enjoy tailwinds as short sellers jump ship. Nearly 8% of the stock's float is sold short, accounting for over eight sessions' worth of pent-up buying demand, at normal trading levels. In fact, some bearish traders are already throwing in the towel, as short interest decreased by over 17% in the past month.