DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) Upgraded by Berenberg Bank to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Berenberg Bank upgraded DraftKings from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, setting a target price of $43.00, which indicates a potential upside of 22.16% from its previous close.
• DraftKings reported a 36.9% year-over-year revenue increase, reaching $1.51 billion in its latest quarterly earnings, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Insiders have sold 658,331 shares of DraftKings stock in recent transactions, indicating a drop in their ownership percentage while institutional investors currently hold 37.70% of the stock.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Berenberg Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $43.00 target price on the stock. Berenberg Bank's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.16% from the company's previous close.

DKNG has been the topic of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on DraftKings from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of DraftKings in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of DraftKings in a report on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark dropped their price target on DraftKings from $53.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of DraftKings in a report on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.28.

DraftKings Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of DKNG opened at $35.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. DraftKings has a 1 year low of $29.64 and a 1 year high of $53.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.65. The firm has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.99.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.14. DraftKings had a negative return on equity of 30.06% and a negative net margin of 5.63%.The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. DraftKings's revenue was up 36.9% on a year-over-year basis. DraftKings has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that DraftKings will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Matthew Kalish sold 210,000 shares of DraftKings stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.90, for a total value of $9,009,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,190,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $179,760,995.70. The trade was a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ryan R. Moore sold 76,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.92, for a total value of $3,507,828.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459.84. This trade represents a 99.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 658,331 shares of company stock worth $29,285,365. Corporate insiders own 51.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in DraftKings in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of DraftKings by 54.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of DraftKings during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of DraftKings by 197.9% in the 1st quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 849 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of DraftKings in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 37.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

DraftKings Company Profile

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.