Wynn Resorts (WYNN - option chain) shares are rising today on news that casino revenue in the Chinese province of Macau rose 48% to $2.5 billion in March, according to government statistics. WYNN owns one of the six casinos operating on the island. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on WYNN.

WYNN opened this morning at $130.00. So far today the stock has hit a low of $129.71 and a high of $135.59. As of 11:50, WYNN is trading at $135.29 up $8.13 (6.4%). The chart for WYNN looks bullish and S&P gives WYNN a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Wynn Resorts (WYNN) is a developer, owner and operator of destination casino resorts. It currently owns and operates the Wynn and Encore resort casinos in Las Vegas, as well as Wynn Macau and Encore in Macau. Competitors include Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts International (MGM), SJM, Galaxy and Harrah's among others.

We currently maintain a $118 price estimate for Wynn Resorts stock, roughly 10% below market price.

Analyst Upgrades

• NYSE Euronex (NYX) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• General Dynamics (GD) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Deere (DE), Parker-Hannifin (PH) and ExlService (EXLS) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Aflac (AFL) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Amdocs (DOX) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Juniper (JNPR) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Rudolph Tech (RTEC) and KLA-Tencor (KLAC) to perform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Hershey (HSY) and Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Micron (MU) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.

Wynn Resorts, Ltd. (WYNN) closed up 2%. November put option implied volatility is at 48, January is at 46. This is near its 26-week average of 47, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Children's Place (PLCE) closed down 13% on a lower Q3 EPS view due to a slower sales trend. November option implied volatility is at 47, December is at 45, January is at 43. This is above its 26-week average of 40, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Analyst Upgrades

• Canaccord believes growth in DigitalGlobe's (DGI) commercial business will be a catalyst for shares. The firm upgraded shares to buy from hold and has a $38 price target on the stock.
• Standpoint upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to accumulate from hold based on valuation. The firm has a $47 target on the stock.
• Morgan Keegan upgraded Open Text (OTEX) to outperform from market perform based on the company's strong FY2011 EPS outlook.
• Devon Energy (DVN) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Magna (MGA) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• EnCana (ECA) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.

As more and more people are finding the discretionary dollars to stick into slot machines and slap down on blackjack tables, you might want to consider putting some money into Las Vegas Sands (LVS).

Las Vegas Sands is hitting multi-year highs as it continues its stellar, steady climb from below $1.50 in early 2009 to its current price just below $30, and it doesn't look like the stock is going to slow down any time soon.

With growth coming from the firm's Marina Bay Sands casino in Singapore and its majority owned subsidiary Sands China, Ltd. In China, Las Vegas Sands is in a position to benefit from the growing economies in Asia even as the U.S. economy muddles along.

Luxury casino operator Wynn Resorts (WYNN) traded higher after hours today following the company's better-than-expected earnings report this afternoon.

Higher revenue in China and Las Vegas helped the company to report a profit after posting a loss during the same period last year. Earnings for the quarter were 22 cents per share, versus a loss of 30 cents during the same period last year. Analysts had been expecting to see WYNN post earnings of 14 cents a share.

Wynn Resorts (WYNN - option chain) stock is trading relatively flat today after the company announced yesterday evening that it will no longer pursue a casino project in the Philadelphia, PA area. This might be a bad sign for WYNN's future, but it also might mean that the company is just not interested in smaller-scale, regional gaming. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on WYNN.

This morning, WYNN opened at $86.67. So far today the stock has hit a high of $87.00 and a low of $84.55. As of 12:00, WYNN is trading at $86.75, up $0.52 (0.6%). The chart for WYNN looks neutral and S&P gives WYNN a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

"Many casino stocks nearly went bankrupt during the recession, but now the best ones are storming back for one reason: Macao, China, also known as the Las Vegas of China," states Mike Cintolo.

The editor of The Cabot Market Letter explains, "During the first two months of 2010, gaming revenues in the region jumped a whopping 66% to $3.4 billion from a year ago (which, admittedly, was a depressed period)."

Wynn Resorts (WYNN - option chain) stock is trading slightly lower today after the company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $5.2 million, or 4 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, WYNN earned 8 cents per share on revenue of $809 million. Analysts had forecast a profit of 13 cents per share on revenue of $784 million. Though the company was pleased with results from its Macau properties, company CEO Steve Wynn told a conference call that the company has a bearish outlook for its Las Vegas properties. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on WYNN.

This morning, WYNN opened at $62.49. So far today the stock has hit a high of $63.11 and a low of $61.18. As of 11:55, WYNN is trading at $62.39, down 41 cents (-0.6%). The chart for WYNN looks neutral and S&P gives WYNN a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) reported this morning that one of its subsidiaries has filed an application to list its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The move was widely expected, as LVS CEO Sheldon Adelson said in July that the casino firm was considering an initial public offering (IPO) or sale of its Macau assets.

"No decisions have been made regarding the timing or terms of any such offering or whether the subsidiary will ultimately proceed with such a transaction," reported LVS in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The DJIA went above 9,000 today. The NASDAQ posted its twelfth consecutive rise. Existing home sales showed a gain and the massive army of the jobless got smaller again. Earnings came on strong, and only the short sellers weren't happy at the end of the day.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,069.29 +188.03 (2.12%)
S&P 500 976.29 +22.22 (2.33%)
Nasdaq 1,973.60 +47.22 (2.45%)

Top Analyst Calls

Now would a good time to Short shares of Wynn Resorts (NYSE: WYNN). A perfect storm of unfavorable factors -- visa restrictions, the global recession, increased competition, and a crack-down on needless corporate and related business travel, do not bode well for WYNN.

Other negatives: Las Vegas is in a pronounced recession, the typical American is scaling-back domestic travel, and more retirees are feeling an income squeeze as companies cut or eliminate dividends. The First Call FY 2009/FY 2010 EPS estimates for WYNN are 27 cents to 63 cents.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) reported solid Q2 numbers despite competition from store brands.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) missed Q4 expectations, sending shares lower.
• First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) said Q4 profit more than doubled due to strong demand.
• Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) posted a lower-than-expected profit on soft sales and lower margins.
• Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. (NASDAQ: HSII) earnings and revenue declined in Q4.
• Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) earnings beat low expectations even as revenue continued to decline.

A late-day rally based on more Bernanke and Geithner data on stress tests and bank packages took away the sting of what was considered a defeat for banks and big business after Obama's speech last night. Existing housing data added to pressure this morning, but again this was trumped at the end of the day. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 7,270.65 -80.29 (-1.09%)
S&P 500 764.87 -8.27 (-1.07%)
Nasdaq 1,425.43 -16.40 (-1.14%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades