Why Caesars Entertainment's Shares Popped Temporarily

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Caesars Entertainment (NAS: CZR) jumped 11% at the open of trading today after at least one big investor bought into the company's recent earnings report. As trading continued, shares settled into low single-digit gains.

So what: The third-quarter results were a classic case of "less bad" results. Net revenue rose slightly to $2.2 billion and the bottom-line loss tripled to $505.5 million, or $4.03 per share. But this number includes $419 million of impairment charges, so if we back that out, the loss improved to $86.5 million. This isn't exactly good, but it's an improvement for Caesars.

Now what: The results for Caesars show some improvement in bottom-line results because of improved cost controls, but this still doesn't make this stock a buy. The company has $20.8 billion of long-term debt and isn't generating enough EBITDA (a proxy for cash flow) to pay for this debt. As a result, debt continues to grow and the stock becomes less attractive. I would sell on any bounce and would avoid this stock at all costs.

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The article Why Caesars Entertainment's Shares Popped Temporarily originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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