LVS is brushing off a disappointing fourth-quarter earnings report
Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS) stock is up 3.1% to trade at $56.72 at last glance, earlier as at $58.20 -- its highest level since June 2021. Though the casino name issued a disappointing fourth-quarter report, but did make positive comments regarding its reopening in Macao, leading several analysts to chime in with bull notes. CBRE upgraded LVS to "buy" from "hold," while no fewer than five other analysts chimed in with price-target hikes.
The majority of analysts are bullish on LVS already. Of the 18 analysts in coverage, 14 now carry a "buy" or better rating after today's upgrade, while the 12-month consensus price target of $61.47 is an 8.5% premium to current levels.
Options traders are targeting Las Vegas Sands stock at four times the intraday average after the news. So far, 15,000 calls and 10,000 puts have been exchanged, with the April 55 put seeing the most activity, followed by the April 55 call.
Though short interest has been unwinding, down 8% over the most recent reporting period, it still represents 5.1% of the stock's available float. In other words, it would take nearly three days to buy back these bearish bets, at LVS' average pace of daily trading.