Morgan Stanley Reiterates Overweight, $48 Target on Penn National Gaming

Morgan Stanley maintains its Overweight rating and $48 target price on Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) as management meeting clarifies “flat” EBITDA guidance to mean growth.

Morgan Stanley comments, “On its 3Q call, mgmt stated that it expects “flat” EBITDA growth in 2012. Clarifying this point yesterday, assuming ~$25 mn of one- time pre-opening expenses in this “flat” calculation, we believe guidance implies Adjusted EBITDA growth of +3-5% to ~$740 mn, inline with current consensus.”

PENN closed at $35.40 on Tuesday.