JP Morgan: Latest rating and target price for Macau gaming stocks (table) Top pick is GALAXY ENT (00027)

JPMorgan released a research report stating that the momentum of Macau's casino revenue in the new year remains strong, with casino revenue for the first 12 days of January amounting to about 7.8 billion Macau dollars, indicating a daily revenue of 650 million Macau dollars. This represents an 11% and 4% increase in daily revenue compared to December and the fourth quarter of last year respectively, with midpoint casino revenue reaching about 115% of pre-epidemic levels, relative to a recovery to about 110% in the fourth quarter of last year. The report mentioned that this year's Lunar New Year holiday will span two months, from January 28th to February 4th lasting 8 days, while last year's Lunar New Year holiday was from February 10th to 17th, affecting year-on-year comparison data. The Lunar New Year will have a corresponding impact on January casino revenue, while it will have a positive impact on February (all Lunar New Year peak demand will be in February). Therefore, it is necessary to consider the casino revenue in January and February comprehensively to analyze potential trends. The report expects that Macau's casino revenue in January will decline by 5% to 7% year-on-year, reaching 18 billion to 18.3 billion Macau dollars; in February, the year-on-year growth will be 0% to 5%, reaching 18.5 billion to 19.5 billion Macau dollars; the casino revenue in the first two months will remain flat year-on-year. The report's top pick for this year is GALAXY ENT (00027), followed by MGM CHINA (02282), WYNN MACAU (01128), SANDS CHINA (01928), SJM HOLDINGS (00880), and MELCO INT'L DEV (00200).