BNP Paribas Exane Upgrades DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) to Strong Sell

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of DraftKings from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of DraftKings from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of DraftKings from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of DraftKings from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of DraftKings from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, DraftKings currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.32.

DraftKings Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of DKNG opened at $25.15 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 419.17, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03. DraftKings has a 1-year low of $20.46 and a 1-year high of $48.78.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. DraftKings had a net margin of 0.93% and a return on equity of 13.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.07) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that DraftKings will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at DraftKings

In related news, Director Jocelyn Moore sold 2,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.60, for a total transaction of $55,040.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,993.60. The trade was a 60.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paul Liberman sold 484,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.16, for a total transaction of $12,187,931.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 213,597 shares in the company, valued at $5,374,100.52. The trade was a 69.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 496,718 shares of company stock worth $12,477,308. Insiders own 47.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in DraftKings in the first quarter worth about $2,669,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in DraftKings in the first quarter worth about $17,660,000. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in DraftKings by 42.8% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 86,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,863,000 after buying an additional 25,821 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in DraftKings by 260.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 387,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,377,000 after buying an additional 280,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its holdings in DraftKings by 564.9% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 30,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 26,132 shares during the last quarter. 37.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About DraftKings

DraftKings Inc is a leading digital sports entertainment and gaming company specializing in daily fantasy sports, sports betting and iGaming products. The company provides an integrated platform where users can participate in daily fantasy contests, place wagers on professional sports events, and enjoy a range of online casino-style games. DraftKings’ proprietary technology supports real-time odds, live scoring and advanced analytics to enhance the user experience across mobile and desktop applications.

Founded in 2012 by co-founders Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish and Paul Liberman, DraftKings began as a daily fantasy sports provider and rapidly expanded into regulated sports betting following legislative changes in the United States.