New York, May 23, 2026, 10:02 (EDT)
Caesars Entertainment (Nasdaq: CZR) heads into the three-day U.S. market holiday with shares up 2.04% Friday at $28.47, marking a 2.4% weekly gain. The stock closed higher for three straight sessions after early-week losses.
U.S. equity markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day. Nasdaq’s 2026 schedule shows no regular trading May 25, but trading will resume normal hours, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, the rest of the week.
S&P 500 was up 0.4% Friday, putting its weekly gain at 0.9%. Dow picked up 0.6% for the session, up 2.1% this week. Nasdaq Composite added 0.2% Friday and finished 0.5% higher for the week. The broad tape helped.
Caesars outperformed a few rivals on Friday. MGM Resorts gained 1.96%. Las Vegas Sands dipped 0.04% and DraftKings was down 1.10%. Caesars finished above the rest in the group.
April-quarter numbers are still in focus for Caesars. The company posted first-quarter net revenue of $2.87 billion, up 2.7% from last year. Net loss for the period was $98 million, less than the $115 million loss a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $887 million. Caesars Digital reported adjusted EBITDA of $69 million; CEO Tom Reeg called it “record first quarter results.” As of March 31, Caesars reported $11.9 billion in debt and $867 million in cash. Business Wire
Analysts are still watching the stock. Macquarie is the newest to weigh in, keeping an Outperform rating and putting a $35 price target on the shares on May 19, according to Benzinga.
Macquarie’s Chad Beynon said in a sector note that regional casino trends are “stable with low-single-digit growth.” But he pointed to a divide, noting that Las Vegas is still seeing “value-oriented behavior.” Beynon rates Caesars and MGM at Outperform, Casino.org reported. Casino
Deal chatter is still in the mix. Reuters said in April, via Bloomberg News, that Caesars had given billionaire Tilman Fertitta more time for exclusive talks on an $18 billion buyout, with Fertitta’s plan including taking on over $11 billion of Caesars debt. The Financial Times reported last week that Morgan Stanley and other banks were lining up about $5 billion in debt financing for the deal, but obstacles are still out there.
But the deal is far from certain. There’s no guarantee a takeover will happen, and Caesars’ debt load could become a problem if cash flow weakens. Soft consumer trends in Las Vegas could also weigh. If demand drops during the holiday season or if convention bookings fall short, investors might start focusing again on balance-sheet risk instead of digital growth or M&A upside.
Caesars faces an early test this week as trading starts up Tuesday—can the stock keep Friday’s gains? There were no new company events last session, so shares will have to move on market sentiment, anything fresh from the Fertitta deal talks, and whether investors still believe in Las Vegas and digital gaming as offsets to the company’s large debt.
