Bally Technologies (NYSE: BYI) designs,
manufactures, operates and distributes advanced gaming devices and associated information systems. Products include reel-spinning slot machines, video slots, wide-area progressives and lottery games, as well as an array of casino management, slot accounting, bonusing, cashless operation and table management systems. Bally also owns and operates the Rainbow Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The company pleased investors earlier in the month, when it announced fiscal Q1 EPS of 37 cents and revenues of $189 million. Analysts had been expecting 27 cents and $180.7 million. Gaming equipment gross margins increased from 32-46% (yr/yr). Management also guided FY08 EPS to $1.55-1.85 ($1.41 consensus) and FY08 revenues to levels above $865 million ($843.08M consensus). Roth Capital subsequently reiterated its "buy" rating on the stock and boosted its price target to $60.
BYI shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.
Brokers recommend the issue with three "buys", five "holds" and one "sell". The BYI Sales Growth rate (22.93%) and Return on Equity (23.54%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutions hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $17.62 and $52.83. A stop-loss of $42.90 looks good here.
Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.
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