CHICAGO, Oct. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (Nasdaq:MPEL-Free Report), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (Nasdaq:WYNN-Free Report), MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM-Free Report), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS-Free Report) and NVIDIA Corp. (Nasdaq:NVDA-Free Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Tuesday's Analyst Blog:
Why Macau Slump Didn't Hurt These Casino Stocks
According to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, gross gaming revenues (GGR) in Macau plunged 11.7% to $3.2 billion in the month of September. This marks the fourth monthly drop in a row and the steepest decline since Jun 2009. The substantial fall reflects the government's crackdown on corruption by enforcing laws to prevent VIP gamblers from illegally siphoning off billions of dollars from mainland China to Macau. This has significantly affected footfall at the casinos.
Moreover, a slump in the Chinese economy has restricted consumer spending. Per media reports, protests in Hong Kong would have also compelled mainland Chinese gamblers to postpone their Hong Kong-Macau trips, thereby lowering guest traffic.
Meanwhile, share prices of companies like Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (Nasdaq:MPEL-Free Report), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (Nasdaq:WYNN-Free Report), MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM-Free Report) and Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS-Free Report) witnessed a rise as the revenue fall was almost in line with analysts' expectations of a 12–13% decline.
Some analysts believe that the in-line results indicate an improvement over the decline experienced over the last three months. However, a few others believe that the worst is not over yet. They expect revenues from VIPs in the Chinese city to continue to contract for another six to nine months. This concern comes in the wake of a ban on smoking, which might further affect footfall.
Also, Macau is reportedly facing labor unrest as a large number of casino workers went on strike for higher wages and better benefits. This is likely to worsen the situation in Macau that is already being hurt by a declining revenue trend over the past few months. In fact, weighing the pros and cons, some analysts expect revenues to grow only in low-single digits in 2014 – likely to mark the weakest performance on record.
Should NVIDIA (NVDA) Stock Be in Your Portfolio Now?
On Oct 7, 2014, Zacks Investment Research upgraded NVIDIA Corp. (Nasdaq:NVDA-Free Report) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). A modest year-to-date return of 14.3%, long-term expected earnings growth rate of 10.3% and positive estimate revision makes NVIDIA an attractive investment option.
Over the past 60 days, NVIDIA has been witnessing positive estimate revisions, which has resulted in a 26.1% jump in its estimates for the current quarter (29 cents per share), while for fiscal 2014, estimates ($1.02 per share) went up 10.9%.
Optimism related to NVIDIA shares can be partly attributed to the higher adoption rate of the company's Tegra processors. NVIDIA's Tegra K1 processors are being used by companies like Acer for Chromebook 13 and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) for Chromebook 14. The Tegra K1 processor has also been selected by Google to power its Project Tango tablet development kit, which will help developers build applications featuring 3-D mapping and sensing capabilities. Moreover, Xiaomi, a fast-rising Chinese mobile manufacturer has launched a tablet powered by TegraK1 processors.
Furthermore, NVIDIA's focus on GRID platforms can increase GPU adoption in data centers, giving it an advantage over its competitors. NVIDIA GRID is a powerful GPU-based platform that supports corporate virtualized desktops in data centers, cloud gaming services and design software-as-a-service.
The company has been gaining traction in the automotive segment as well. Its alliance with Volkswagen and Honda to deliver new Infotainment System, Smart Display and Digital Cockpit driven by its Tegra Visual Computing Module (VCM) also remain catalysts.
We believe that NVIDIA's innovative product pipeline, comprising the recently introduced SHIELD 2 and mobile processor Tegra K1, will boost top-line growth. Moreover, the company's recent strategic alliances are expected be highly profitable over the long term.
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
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