Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR)

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 42,991 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 203% compared to the typical volume of 14,178 put options.

Caesars Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CZR traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,483,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,049,151. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84. Caesars Entertainment has a 1 year low of $31.74 and a 1 year high of $47.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of -19.25 and a beta of 2.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.40.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.25). Caesars Entertainment had a negative net margin of 3.20% and a negative return on equity of 4.44%. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caesars Entertainment will post -0.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Caesars Entertainment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on Caesars Entertainment from $59.00 to $57.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caesars Entertainment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.43.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caesars Entertainment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Caesars Entertainment by 3,203.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 859 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in shares of Caesars Entertainment during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Caesars Entertainment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 25.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Caesars Entertainment by 9.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. 91.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caesars Entertainment Company Profile

Caesars Entertainment, Inc operates as a gaming and hospitality company. The company owns, leases, or manages domestic properties in 18 states with slot machines, video lottery terminals and e-tables, and hotel rooms, as well as table games, including poker. It also operates and conducts retail and online sports wagering across 31 jurisdictions in North America and operates iGaming in five jurisdictions in North America; sports betting from our retail and online sportsbooks; and other games, such as keno.