Flutter Entertainment PLC (NYSE:FLUT) Short Interest Down 24.8% in April

Key Points

• Short interest down 24.8% in April to 7,378,758 shares (about 4.2% of outstanding shares), leaving a short-interest ratio of 3.1 days based on average daily volume.
• Flutter missed quarterly EPS ($1.74 vs. $2.11 expected) and is trading near $107.71, substantially below its 200‑day moving average and the one‑year high of $313.68.
• The board authorized a $250 million share buyback (≈1.3% of stock) even as insiders sold roughly 17,834 shares (~$1.9M), while large institutions materially increased positions.

Flutter Entertainment PLC (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,378,758 shares, a decrease of 24.8% from the March 31st total of 9,816,563 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,399,782 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FLUT shares. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $160.00 to $143.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $195.00 to $188.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $270.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Texas Capital raised shares of Flutter Entertainment to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Flutter Entertainment from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.29.

Flutter Entertainment Price Performance

FLUT traded down $1.38 on Wednesday, reaching $107.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,454,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,751,648. The company has a fifty day moving average of $109.19 and a 200-day moving average of $171.17. The company has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.84, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Flutter Entertainment has a one year low of $98.88 and a one year high of $313.68.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. Flutter Entertainment had a negative net margin of 1.89% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Flutter Entertainment will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Flutter Entertainment declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flutter Entertainment news, CEO Amy Howe sold 8,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.91, for a total transaction of $942,069.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,355,133.99. This represents a 10.13% 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, CEO Jeremy Peter Jackson sold 4,326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.00, for a total transaction of $467,208.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 36,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,973,104. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,834 shares of company stock valued at $1,900,331. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flutter Entertainment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FLUT. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Flutter Entertainment in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,678,841,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 146.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,039,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,782,302 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment during the 4th quarter valued at about $694,009,000. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 274.2% during the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,243,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,973,000 after purchasing an additional 911,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PointState Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 1,399,735 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,999,000 after purchasing an additional 798,302 shares in the last quarter.

About Flutter Entertainment

Flutter Entertainment plc is a global sports betting and gaming company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing brands and digital platforms. The company's primary activities include online sports betting, casino gaming, poker, and daily fantasy sports, delivered through web and mobile applications as well as retail betting locations in select markets. Flutter focuses on product development, customer acquisition and engagement, and compliance with local gambling regulations across the jurisdictions where it operates.

Flutter's brand portfolio includes well-known names in different regional markets, such as FanDuel in the United States, PokerStars, Betfair, Paddy Power and Sky Betting & Gaming in Europe and elsewhere.

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