Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) Share Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Flutter Entertainment shares rose 6.1% and moved above their 50-day moving average of $86.81, reaching as high as $88.75 after Citigroup upgraded the stock to “buy.” Citigroup nonetheless lowered its price target to $91 from $93.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $134.44, although several firms have recently reduced their targets.
• The company’s latest quarterly revenue increased 3.3% year over year to $4.33 billion, beating expectations, while EPS of $0.49 missed the consensus estimate of $0.54. Insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations tied to vested equity awards.

Flutter Entertainment PLC (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) shares passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday after Citigroup upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $86.81 and traded as high as $88.75. Citigroup now has a $91.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $93.00. Flutter Entertainment shares last traded at $87.6050, with a volume of 4,417,307 shares traded.

FLUT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Flutter Entertainment from $137.00 to $112.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark dropped their target price on Flutter Entertainment from $132.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush cut their target price on Flutter Entertainment from $138.00 to $126.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BTIG Research reduced their price target on Flutter Entertainment from $113.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Flutter Entertainment from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert Coldrake sold 710 shares of Flutter Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.86, for a total value of $69,480.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,055.08. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Daniel Taylor sold 791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.86, for a total value of $77,407.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,134,420.62. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 6,681 shares of company stock worth $644,214 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FLUT. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Flutter Entertainment in the third quarter worth approximately $206,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 4,535 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 39.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 11,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth $119,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 167.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 557 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter.

Flutter Entertainment Stock Up 6.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.81 and a 200 day moving average of $107.10.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). Flutter Entertainment had a negative net margin of 4.39% and a positive return on equity of 7.27%. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Flutter Entertainment PLC will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Flutter Entertainment

Flutter Entertainment plc is a global sports betting and online gaming company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company operates a portfolio of betting, gaming, poker and daily fantasy sports brands, serving customers through online platforms, mobile applications and, in some markets, retail locations.

Its principal brands include FanDuel in the United States, Paddy Power and Betfair in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Sky Bet in the United Kingdom, PokerStars internationally, and Sisal and SNAI in Italy.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.