By Senad Karaahmetovic
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) reported better-than-expected Q1 results to send its shares almost 5% higher in pre-open Thursday.
The company posted EPS of $0.28 on revenue of $2.12 billion, topping the analyst estimate for a profit of $0.16 per share on revenue of $1.78B.
"While travel restrictions and reduced visitation continued to impact our financial performance during the quarter, a robust recovery in travel and tourism spending across our markets is now underway. We remain enthusiastic about the opportunity to welcome more guests back to our properties throughout 2023 and in the years ahead," said Robert G. Goldstein, chairman and chief executive officer.
Stifel analysts hiked the price target by $7 to $73 per share.
“LVS and other Macau-centric names are clearly momentum stocks at this point and as long as visitation/spend patterns remain healthy over the next couple of months, we believe shares can continue outperforming domestic peers,” analysts said in a client note.
Morgan Stanley analysts reiterated an Overweight rating on LVS stock.
“1Q was well above MSe/cons expectations underpinned by quicker recovery in Macau, share gains in premium mass, better cost control, and momentum in Singapore,” the analysts said.