Las Vegas Sands Shares Could Fall More with Downgrades

Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS) shares lost 16% yesterday with shares now in the $9 range after reporting dissapointing Q2 09 results and Moody's Investors Service placed the  ratings on review for possible downgrade following the Q2 loss.

the Sands lost $222.2 million in Q2 2009, compared with a loss of $8.8 million a year ago. Results in the most recent period were hurt by charges to settle a legal matter and other charges for weaker-than-expected proceeds from the sale of a mall at one of its resorts in Las Vegas.  Revenue also declined around 5% amid weak consumer spending.

Via Fool.com:

Revenue at Sands' Vegas properties fell 17% while EBITDAR (a measure of cash flow) dropped 27%.

Interestingly, gaming revenue took only a modest drop at all of Sands' properties, while room, food and beverage, and retail business provided the stronger tug on sales.

The next blow Las Vegas Sands shareholders could feel would be Moody's tossing the company under the bus as well as the analyst community giving a thumbs down on the stock.  Moody's Investor Service said Friday that it could downgrade its rating on Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) due to weak Q2 results. Moody's currently holds a B3 corporate family rating on the casino operator. According to a Marketwatch article Moody's said, "The review for downgrade also acknowledges that there is no definitive agreement or plan to sell non-core assets in Macau at this time."

Thus far, only Wedbush Morgan has downgraded Sands shares, but this could just be the beginning:

Here's the recap of the earnings call via Bloomberg: