Jefferies analyst David Katz said he views proposed smoking bans in St. Charles and St. Louis counties as potentially detrimental to Penn National (PENN) and Boyd Gaming (BYD), depending on the passing of the bills and the exemptions allowed. While the prospective process could "very modestly" temper his otherwise positive view on both stocks, he would consider any potential weakness a buying opportunity, Katz added. He keeps Buy ratings on the stocks of both casino operators.

BofA/Merrill analyst Shaun Kelley notes that the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which had effectively banned full sports betting in every state except Nevada. While the analyst expects operator margins to be low, he sees upside for all of regional gaming, while gaming tech could be a key beneficiary. Reflecting sports betting in higher multiples, Kelley raised his price targets for Boyd Gaming (BYD) to $45 from $42, Penn National (PENN) to $36 from $32, Scientific Games (SGMS) to $70 from $60, and International Game (IGT) to $36 from $34.

Nomura Instinet analyst Harry Curtis says his latest conversations with Macau operators Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO), MGM Resorts (MGM) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) paint a picture that is "vastly different" from the recent share selloff in the space. The analyst believes quarter-to-date trends through early September "remain strong." Operators have not seen any incremental weakness since reporting Q2 results, Curtis tells investors in a research note. Further, based on recent checks and conversations with management, he believes the strength that Wynn Resorts was seeing when it reported Q2 earnings on August 1 has not deteriorated. The analyst keeps a Buy rating on all three companies.

Since early June, the Macau gaming stock prices have fallen 20%-30%, with much of the decline over the last five trading days, Nomura Instinet analyst Harry Curtis tells investors in a research note titled with a Billy Ray Valentine quote: "'They're Panicking Out There.'" The group is down to multiples last seen in 2015 when VIP revenues compressed 40%, the analyst points out. He believes the group's risk/reward profiles are as attractive as it was three years ago. Positive comments about gross gaming revenue trends made on Q2 earnings calls "HAVE NOT deteriorated," writes Curtis. He believes Macau gaming stocks should be bought at these levels, especially Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO), MGM Resorts (MGM) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN).

Nomura Instinet analyst Harry Curtis said in a research note to investors that while his latest Las Vegas room rate survey shows "mostly negative" y/y trends through October, sequential price momentum, measured by first-to-last call rates, has become more positive for Strip operators for the first time in months. Curtis says the latest survey for Q3 shows y/y rates down 1.2% for MGM (MGM) vs. guidance of down 5%-7% and up 3.6% for Caesars (CZR) vs. guidance of flat to up 2%, suggesting there could be modest upside to Q3 guidance for both MGM and Caesars. The analyst has a Buy rating on both stocks.

Stifel analyst Steven Wieczynski blames recent share weakness in regional gaming names on concerns about the economy, hedge funds exiting the gaming space and investors fleeing over-levered balance sheets given rate fears. However, Penn National has 75% of their debt fixed including lease payments and management expects rising rates to actually be a net positive given their senior-aged average customers will end up with more discretionary income in their wallets, Wieczynski tells investors after meeting with company management. He remains "steadfast" in his support of Penn National shares following his meetings and thinks the "irrational selling" of the stock has created a buying opportunity. The analyst keeps a Buy rating and $38 price target on Penn National.

Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. ANALYSTS SEE VALUE IN WYNN FOLLOWING PULLBACK: JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff argued that there is a disconnect between Wynn Resorts' (WYNN) current operating fundamentals and investor sentiment, viewing the recent sector pullback as a buying opportunity. He kept an Overweight rating on Wynn Resorts with a $191 price target. Sharing a similar opinion, Carlo Santarelli at Deutsche Bank said that he would be a buyer of the stock given current valuation and as conditions in Macau remain stable in both the VIP and mass segments. He kept a Buy rating on Wynn Resorts with a $190 price target. AKAMAI UPGRADED TO BUY: DA Davidson analyst Mark Kelleher upgraded Akamai (AKAM) to Buy from Neutral and raised his price target to $93 from $80 after meeting with its management last week to discuss its Q2 results and the company direction going into 2019. The analyst notes that the discussions boosted his confidence in the company's strategic direction as it executes in a transition to a security vendor, saying the company supported by the "enhanced demand" for its security products over the last few quarters. Kelleher further cites the abating headwinds in the company's media segment, which returned to growth after struggling for the past few quarters. CITI DOWNGRADES ANTHEM, UNITEDHEALTH: Citi analyst Ralph Giacobbe downgraded Anthem (ANTM) and UnitedHealth (UNH) to Neutral with unchanged price targets of $290, and $288, respectively. The analyst is taking a more selective view of the managed care sector into year-end and 2019, citing "some reservations" about the commercial risk market. He sees more limited upside to estimates making it difficult to push valuations meaningfully higher "from already-premium levels." SUNTRUST CUTS CONSTELLATION BRANDS TO HOLD: SunTrust analyst William Chappell downgraded Constellation Brands (STZ) to Hold from Buy and lowered his price target to $220 from $260 while also lowering his FY19 EPS view to $9.35 from $9.59 and FY20 to $10.45 from $10.95. The analyst noted that the company's recent $4B investment in Canopy Growth (CGC) may "keep a cloud" over the stock for the next few quarters, as there is "little certainty" in the deal's revenue or profit potential. Chappell adds that the cannabis business generally has "limited near term catalysts", stating that the stock price may be range bound for an extended time as investors adjust to Constellation Brands' higher leverage ratio. BAIRD DESIGNATES TESLA A FRESH PICK: Baird analyst Ben Kallo designated Tesla (TSLA) as a Fresh Pick as he believes the company's strong fundamentals should drive the shares higher. He said the underlying ramp in Model 3 production will also help push the shares higher ahead of the Q3 deliveries and results. Kallo reiterated his Outperform rating and $411 price target on Tesla shares.

After hosting investor meetings with CFO Craig Billings, JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff believes there is a disconnect between Wynn Resorts' current operating fundamentals and current investor sentiment. The shares, after dropping from $200 in late May to around $128, are pricing in a considerable amount of Macau, China, trade tension and emerging market risks, Greff tells investors in a research note. As such, he sees a "considerable amount of value" at current share levels. He keeps an Overweight rating on Wynn Resorts with a $191 price target and views the recent sector pullback as a buying opportunity.

After holding meetings in Las Vegas, Morgan Stanley analyst Thomas Allen said he came away feeling that commentary mostly supports a "decent" Vegas market, which "should be enough" for MGM Resorts (MGM). The meetings also made him more bullish on Wynn Resorts (WYNN), as Allen believes weaker Macau growth and lost share should be transitory issues, he tells investors. Allen has Overweight ratings on Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and MGM and an Equal Weight rating on Wynn Resorts.

Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. CREDIT SUISSE INITIATES CASINO STOCKS: Credit Suisse analyst Cameron McKnight initiated Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI), VICI Properties (VICI), and PlayAGS (AGS) with an Outperform, Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Wynn Resorts (WYNN), MGM Growth (MGP), and International Game (IGT) with a Neutral, as well as Scientific Games (SGMS) with an Underperform. MORGAN STANLEY RAISES SALESFORCE PRICE TARGET TO $178 FROM $153: Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss raised his price target for Salesforce (CRM) shares to $178 from $153 and maintained an Overweight rating. Weiss noted that unlocking data trapped in legacy systems via MuleSoft brings the company to the forefront of driving digital transformation for its customers and added that consensus expectations likely underestimate its growth potential as well as its improved track record in M&A. JEFFRIES SAYS "SIGNIFICANT SHAREHOLDER VALUE TO BE UNLOCKED" AT NIELSEN: Even following yesterday's 12% rally, there is "significant shareholder value to be unlocked" at Nielsen Holdings (NLSN), Jefferies analyst Surinder Thind told investors in a research note. Nielsen was also upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie and to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays. Morgan Stanley analyst Toni Kaplan reiterated an Overweight rating and $26 price target on the stock. NOMURA RAISES PRICE TARGET AFTER SQUARE CASH APP SURPASSED PAYPAL'S VENMO IN JULY: Nomura Instinet analyst Dan Dolev raised his price target for Square (SQ) to $86 from $82 after his firm's July payments app tracker showed cumulative Square Cash App downloads surpassed PayPal's (PYPL) Venmo for the first time. SWITCH DOWNGRADED AT MULTIPLE FIRMS: Switch (SWCH) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James, to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, and to Neutral from Buy at BTIG. Switch shares are down about 25% in morning trading.

Morgan Stanley equity strategist Mark Savino noted that about 12% of CEO jobs among S&P 500 companies turned over in 2017, noting that this was the highest level of CEO departures since before the financial crisis. The 59 stocks of S&P 500 companies that had CEOs depart in 2017 underperformed the market by 11% over the next 12 months, or since the departure for instances that were less than 12 months ago, noted Savino. In cooperation with the firm's U.S. analysts, Savino and his team identified the companies in each sector they believe face the greatest level of "key man risk," which includes: Boeing (BA), Tesla (TSLA), ADT Inc. (ADT), Moody's (MCO), TransUnion (TRU), Arista Networks (ANET), Church & Dwight (CHD), Coca-Cola (KO), Monster Beverage (MNST), Coupa Software (COUP), Salesforce (CRM), FireEye (FEYE), MongoDB (MDB), Microsoft (MSFT), New Relic (NEWR), XPO Logistics (XPO), Hilton (HLT), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Best Buy (BBY), Ulta (ULTA), Aflac (AFL), Athene Holding (ATH), Lincoln National (LNC), Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG), Chubb (CB), Amazon.com (AMZN), Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Facebook (FB), Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Terex (TEX), Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), Freeport McMoRan (FCX), FleetCor (FLT), Global Payments (GPN), Square (SQ), Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Broadcom (AVGO), Nvidia (NVDA), Chegg (CHGG), DXC Technology (DXC), Medidata (MDSO), Pluralsight (PS), RealPage (RP), Shopify (SHOP) and T-Mobile (TMUS).