Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy Rating

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MCRI. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $79.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $73.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.40.

Monarch Casino & Resort Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MCRI traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $79.10. The company had a trading volume of 128,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,081. Monarch Casino & Resort has a twelve month low of $64.50 and a twelve month high of $89.06. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 1.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.78.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $137.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.50 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 16.82%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 4.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Monarch Casino & Resort

In related news, CEO John Farahi sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.70, for a total transaction of $77,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 528,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,059,477.20. This represents a 0.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 24.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monarch Casino & Resort

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCRI. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 61.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the third quarter worth $222,000. 62.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc engages in the ownership and operation of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel and casino facility in Reno, Nevada, and the Monarch Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.