Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Crushed after Macau Rejection, Wynn (Nasdaq:WYNN) Wins

Investors punished Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) later in the trading day Thursday on news their request to develop land in Macau was rejected.

UBS Global Equity Research analyst Robin Farley commented, “Our assumption is the parcel will not go to LVS…While no reasoning was given, it is possible the Macau government would like to see all 6 concessionaires well represented on Cotai in a limited supply environment.”

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Steven Wieczynski said the "sell-off is a bit extreme as we don’t believe most investors expected LVS to actually go through and develop these two parcels."

Evidently enough did to push the share price of the stock hard.

Wieczynski added, “With the Macau government getting more vocal/concerned about additional supply, we wouldn’t be surprised if the government sits on the land for the time being.”

The company has 15 days to apply for a review from the government, and an additional 30 days to make an appeal via Macau courts.

Most think this is good news for competitor Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq:WYNN) who should benefit from the decision, assuming it holds.

Las Vegas Sands closed Thursday at $49.17, plunging $2.17, or 4.24 percent.

Stifel has a "Hold" rating on the Sands and UBS maintains a "Neutral" rating.