AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in DraftKings Inc. $DKNG

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in DraftKings by 2,138.9% during the first quarter, acquiring over 4.4 million additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 4,696,244 shares valued at approximately $156 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also modified their positions in DraftKings, with notable increases from Contour Asset Management LLC and Quarry LP, indicating growing investor interest in the company.
• DraftKings reported strong quarterly earnings, with a revenue increase of 36.9% year-over-year, and exceeded analysts' expectations with $0.30 earnings per share, significantly beating the consensus estimate of $0.16.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG - Free Report) by 2,138.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,696,244 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,486,488 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.53% of DraftKings worth $155,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of DraftKings in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Contour Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of DraftKings by 129.4% in the first quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,501,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,082,000 after buying an additional 1,410,977 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of DraftKings in the first quarter valued at approximately $740,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of DraftKings by 13.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 846,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,115,000 after buying an additional 102,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of DraftKings by 182.9% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 8,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 5,407 shares in the last quarter. 37.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Matthew Kalish sold 210,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider owned 4,190,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $179,760,995.70. This represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alan Wayne Ellingson sold 44,693 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.90, for a total value of $2,006,715.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,753,081.90. This trade represents a 25.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 816,662 shares of company stock worth $35,460,274. Corporate insiders own 51.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $47.00 price target on DraftKings and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of DraftKings in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of DraftKings in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on DraftKings from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, DraftKings presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.37.

DraftKings Stock Performance

NASDAQ DKNG opened at $47.68 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $44.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. DraftKings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.64 and a fifty-two week high of $53.61.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 36.9% compared to the same quarter last year. DraftKings has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that DraftKings Inc. will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

DraftKings 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.

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