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

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 42,991 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 203% compared to the average volume of 14,178 put options.

Caesars Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of CZR opened at $32.51 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.38. 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 52 week low of $31.74 and a 52 week high of $47.99. The stock has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.47 and a beta of 2.90.

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

Institutional Trading of Caesars Entertainment

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CZR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Caesars Entertainment from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Caesars Entertainment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.43.

About Caesars Entertainment

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.