Ahead of the Bell: Las Vegas Sands falls

NEW YORK - Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. dropped in premarket trading Friday as analysts expressed concern about its capital position and a challenging Las Vegas market.

Shares fell $1.04, or 10 percent, to $10.11 Friday. They closed Thursday at $11.15.

"We are still uncomfortable in LVS's capital position going forward and need more evidence that a capital raise is in the near future," Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Steven Wieczynski said. "A disconnect remains between their debt balance and what their asset are actually worth that will likely not close until 2011 and beyond," Wieczynski wrote.

Also, the slow economy slowed traffic at casinos, a trend that may continue to hurt results.

KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Dennis Forst said he expects "continuing headwinds in LVS' Las Vegas market while we expect Macau's decline to decelerate."

Forst maintained a "Hold" rating on the shares, adding, that "the promotional and competitive environment in Macau and Las Vegas, combined with the slipping economy, make for a very difficult 2009 and likely 2010."

On Thursday, Las Vegas Sands said it lost $175.9 million in the second quarter. Adjusted profit of a penny per share beat expectations for a loss of 1 cent per share.

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