J.P. Morgan Remains Buyers Of LVS At Current Levels

Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s LVS majority owned subsidiary, Sands China, announced that it has received a letter from the Macau Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau saying that the government is in the process of giving its final approval for LVS's sale of its Four Seasons–branded co-op apartments, J.P. Morgan reports. “LVS owns a 286-unit Four Seasons–branded luxury apartment with approximately 1.087 million square feet,” J.P. Morgan writes. “We estimate that proceeds from the sale of these apartments would add another $1 in incremental equity value per share that we are not modeling.” J.P. Morgan said that since the Macau government rejected the land application of LVS Parcel 7&8, investors legitimately have become concerned that the government prefers non-US casino operators at the expense of U.S. ones and that newer government policy could put LVS's long-term growth prospect at a disadvantage. “We believe that today's positive signal from the Macau government should ease a large amount of this concern,” J.P. Morgan continues, adding that it thinks LVS's Macau, Singapore and LV operating fundamentals are solid, its sites 5&6 development opportunity still intact, and it likes LVS's unique ability to compete for new integrated casino/convention resorts in Asia (Japan). “We would be buyers at current levels,” J.P. Morgan concludes. Las Vegas Sands Corp. closed Friday at $45.38.