Earnings Reports Have Investors Abuzz About Gilead, Las Vegas Sands, 3 Other Stocks

Macau Finally Stabilizing?

Investors are bidding shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) 3.83% higher in extended market trading after the casino giant reported its second quarter earnings. Although Las Vegas Sands missed earnings and revenue estimates by $0.04 per share and $110 million respectively with EPS of $0.52 on sales of $2.65 billion, the company’s crucial Macau segment showed some green shoots. The company’s mass gaming revenue in June rose year-over-year, marking the first such monthly mass gaming growth in around two years. The mass gaming segment will be increasingly important in the future as China’s economy develops. 30 funds that we track had a bullish position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) at the end of the first quarter, up by six funds from the end of the previous quarter.

Mixed Results at Brixmor

Brixmor Property Group Inc (NYSE:BRX) reported mixed second quarter results, with FFO of $0.52 per share on sales of $310.06 million, beating the cash flow estimate by $0.02 per share but missing the top-line consensus mark by $4.56 million. Leased occupancy rose by 30 basis points year-over-year to 92.8% while same property NOI inched up by 3.5%. Management sees FFO per share coming in at $2.03-to-$2.06 for the full year, a narrowing of the previous guidance range of $2.01-to-$2.09. 13 funds in our system owned shares of Brixmor Property Group Inc (NYSE:BRX) as of March 31, up by two funds from December 31.

Celanese Earnings Top Expectations

Despite revenue retreating by 8.8% year-over-year and falling short of analyst estimates by $70 million, Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE)‘s earnings were better than expected by $0.03 per share. For the period, Celanese earned $1.59 per share on sales of $1.35 billion, driven by management’s focus on productivity and efficiency and the company deploying $200 million in cash during the quarter to buy back 2.8 million shares. In addition to the buybacks, both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s upgraded Celanese’s credit to Investment Grade during the quarter. Nonetheless, shares of Celanese have slumped by 4.20% this morning. Cliff Asness‘ AQR Capital Management owned over 820,000 shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) as of the end of March.

Disclosure: None