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 on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on DKNG. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of DraftKings from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of DraftKings from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of DraftKings from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of DraftKings in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of DraftKings from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.32.

DraftKings Stock Performance

NASDAQ DKNG opened at $25.15 on Thursday. DraftKings has a 52-week low of $20.46 and a 52-week high of $48.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 419.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.68 and a 200-day moving average of $28.16.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 13.51% and a net margin of 0.93%.The business’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that DraftKings will post 0.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other DraftKings news, insider Paul Liberman sold 484,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.16, for a total value of $12,187,931.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 213,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,374,100.52. The trade was a 69.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Erik Bradbury sold 7,268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.50, for a total transaction of $163,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 36,736 shares in the company, valued at $826,560. The trade was a 16.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 496,718 shares of company stock worth $12,477,308 over the last ninety days. 47.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DraftKings

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of DraftKings in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of DraftKings by 100.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of DraftKings in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in shares of DraftKings during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of DraftKings during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

DraftKings Company Profile

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.