BYD Gaming Stock Rises In Premarket Following Analyst’s Bullish Recommendation: Retail Sentiment Lags

Shares of Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corp. ($BYD) rose in Friday’s premarket trading following a positive analyst’s action but retail sentiment remained subdued.

Jefferies analyst David Katz upgraded Boyd Gaming stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold,’ and upped the price target to $92 from $73, TheFly reported. The upwardly adjusted price target suggests scope for a 28% upside potential.

The analyst sees the company’s capital investment in its regional portfolio, easing comps in Las Vegas and a highly promotional environment that prevailed in 2024 to provide a thrust to the stock this year.

Katz predicted 9% year-over-year (YoY) earnings growth due to the company’s commitment to buying back its shares.

Additionally, the analyst views that the value of Boyd Gaming’s digital presence through FanDuel is unappreciated. He values the business at $7 per share.

Jefferies’ action follows a few positive moves by sell-side analysts recently. Deutsche Bank recently raised the price target for Boyd Gaming from $72 to $79 as part of an estimate update for gaming companies, transitioning the base year from 2025 to 2026.

In mid-December, Argus upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold,’ with a $90 price target. JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff lifted the price target for Boyd Gaming stock to $74 from $69 and remained at ‘Neutral.’

BYD sentiment and message volume January 3, 2025, premarket as of 5:25 am ET | Source: Stocktwits

On Stocktwits, sentiment toward Boyd Gaming stock deteriorated from ‘neutral’ a month ago to ‘bearish’ (25/100), although message volume improved to ‘high.’

Boyd Gaming stock has gained 17% in 2024. After ending Thursday’s session down about 1%, the stock was trading up 3.42% at $74.29 in premarket trading as of 4:52 a.m. ET.

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