Nicholas Yulico
Las Vegas Sands(LVS Quote - Cramer on LVS - Stock Picks) shares plunged 13% Friday morning after the Las Vegas and Macau casino owner missed third-quarter revenue and profit estimates by a wide margin.
The general consensus among investors and analysts is that the company's quarter was decent, but not stellar enough for the momentum growth stock. Shares of Las Vegas Sands had climbed 36% since early August, just prior to the company's opening of its massive new Venetian Macau casino in China. The company said late Thursday that its third-quarter adjusted profit fell 65% to $41.8 million, or 12 cents a share. Analysts, on average, expected earnings per share of 31 cents, according to Thomson Financial. Revenue rose 19.5% to $661 million, well below the $783 million that analysts expected. Analysts blamed the weakness on bad luck at Las Vegas Sands' casinos, along with a slow ramp-up of the Venetian Macau. Buy-side sources say some Wall Street analysts may have gotten ahead of themselves in bumping up earnings projections in the recent months. Shares of Las Vegas Sands recently were down $16.08 to $109.22. The stock plunge could get some institutional buyers interested in the name again, as most Wall Street analysts reiterated their buy ratings on the stock after the earnings release. "There's going to be some fresh money looking at this name," says one hedge fund analyst who has a volatility options trade on the stock. This analyst, who has been long Las Vegas Sands in the past, says he wouldn't jump in and buy the stock just yet. But a pullback below $100 could be a great buying opportunity, the analyst says.
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