Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) Shares Down 5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Flutter Entertainment shares fell 5% to about $92.67, with trading volume roughly 44% below the daily average.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed: Needham lowered its target to $110 but kept a “buy” rating, while JPMorgan initiated coverage at “neutral” with a $114 target. The overall consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with a $156.88 average price target.
• Flutter’s latest quarterly revenue rose 3.3% year over year to $4.33 billion, beating estimates, but adjusted EPS of $0.49 missed expectations of $0.54. Insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations, while several institutional investors increased their positions.

Flutter Entertainment PLC (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $92.97 and last traded at $92.6710. 1,833,781 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 3,302,720 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FLUT. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Flutter Entertainment from $135.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Flutter Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Flutter Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Flutter Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $148.00 target price on Flutter Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.88.

Flutter Entertainment Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $16.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock's 50 day moving average is $101.58 and its 200 day moving average is $103.37.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). Flutter Entertainment had a positive return on equity of 7.27% and a negative net margin of 4.39%.The company had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Flutter Entertainment PLC will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Flutter Entertainment

In other news, CFO Robert Coldrake sold 710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were 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 owned 22,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,229,055.08. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Don H. Liu sold 565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.86, for a total transaction of $55,290.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,000,356.26. This represents a 2.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,681 shares of company stock worth $644,214. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flutter Entertainment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Flutter Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $694,009,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Flutter Entertainment during the 1st quarter worth $3,670,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in Flutter Entertainment by 53.3% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 64,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,530,000 after buying an additional 22,270 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Flutter Entertainment by 286.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 52,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,383,000 after buying an additional 39,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in Flutter Entertainment by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 243,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,530 shares during the last quarter.

About Flutter Entertainment

Flutter Entertainment plc is a global sports betting and online gaming company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company provides customers with sports wagering, casino, poker, bingo and other gaming products through digital platforms, retail betting shops and other distribution channels.

Flutter's portfolio includes brands such as FanDuel in the United States, Paddy Power and Betfair in the United Kingdom and Ireland, PokerStars internationally, Sky Betting & Gaming, Sisal and tombola.

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