DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $52.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 10,770,857 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 7% from the previous session’s volume of 11,519,905 shares.The stock last traded at $42.23 and had previously closed at $43.03.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of DraftKings in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded DraftKings from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on DraftKings from $39.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of DraftKings in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of DraftKings from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.45.

Insider Transactions at DraftKings

In other DraftKings news, insider R Stanton Dodge sold 686,101 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.06, for a total transaction of $29,543,509.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 200,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,622,291.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other DraftKings news, insider Jason Robins sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.89, for a total value of $8,178,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,195,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,676,752.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider R Stanton Dodge sold 686,101 shares of DraftKings stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.06, for a total value of $29,543,509.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 200,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,622,291.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,086,101 shares of company stock worth $45,903,509. Insiders own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DraftKings

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in DraftKings during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,975,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in DraftKings by 169.1% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,338,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,393,000 after buying an additional 840,755 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in DraftKings in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in DraftKings by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 296,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,741,000 after acquiring an additional 64,186 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of DraftKings by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 114,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

DraftKings Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $36.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.44 and a beta of 1.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.78.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by ($0.02). DraftKings had a negative net margin of 13.45% and a negative return on equity of 61.75%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.87) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that DraftKings Inc. will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

About DraftKings

DraftKings Inc operates as a digital sports entertainment and gaming company in the United States and internationally. It provides online sports betting and casino, daily fantasy sports, media, and other consumer products, as well as retails sportsbooks. The company also engages in the design and development of sports betting and casino gaming software for online and retail sportsbooks, and iGaming operators.