These Gambling Stocks Are Not Worth The Wager On Coronavirus Woes

 | Mar 12, 2020 09:48PM ET

The coronavirus outbreak is not only keeping Wall Street on edge but the global market at large. In the past month, the S&P 500 have declined 18.9%. Apart from China, the deadly virus has spread to countries including the United States, Italy, South Korea, India, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, France, Denmark and Japan. In fact, cases of coronavirus have been reported across 124 countries and territories.

The outbreak has wreaked havoc impacting industries like Transportation, Leisure, Restaurants, Auto, Pharma, Electronics, Technology, Cosmetics and Apparel.

Coronavirus Impact on Gambling Industry

The coronavirus outbreak has been impacting the Casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau. In February, gaming revenues from Macau decreased 87.8% to 3.1 billion patacas ($387 million). Notably, the casino operators in Macau were already grappling with a slowdown in China and the trade war between Beijing and Washington, the coronavirus outbreak has only added to the woes.

In Macau, casinos were shutdown beginning Feb 5 owing to the coronavirus. Although, casinos were reopened on Feb 20, travel restriction and limited number of tables at casinos continues to hurt the industry. Moreover, with the coronavirus becoming a pandemic, the impact has become visible across the world.

4 Gambling Stock to Avoid

Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) has been impacted by the coronavirus crisis. In fact, shares of the company have tanked 48.5% in the past month. The Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) company was bearing operating expenses of nearly $2.4 million to $2.6 million per day, when casinos were closed in China. The expenses mostly comprised of payroll to 12,200 employees. Earnings estimates for current quarter and year have declined $1.92 and $3.89, respectively, in the past 60 days.

Shares of MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) have declined 51.6% in the past month. The company’s performance in 2020 will be impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Apparently, the company had closed operations in its Macau casinos and gaming areas. Owing to the shutdown, the company was incurring operating expenses of approximately $1.5 million per day, majority being the payroll. The Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company’s earnings estimates for current quarter and year have declined 25 cents and 70 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.