DraftKings Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:DKNG)

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 82,021 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 106% compared to the typical volume of 39,872 call options.

DraftKings Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DKNG traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.70. 14,358,002 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,532,085. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.63 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. DraftKings has a twelve month low of $20.46 and a twelve month high of $48.78.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. DraftKings had a negative return on equity of 11.26% and a negative net margin of 2.68%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that DraftKings will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of DraftKings from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on DraftKings from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research raised DraftKings from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on DraftKings in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Moffett Nathanson decreased their price objective on shares of DraftKings from $27.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider R Stanton Dodge sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $1,855,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 556,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,509,737.44. This represents a 10.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jocelyn Moore sold 10,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.05, for a total transaction of $258,753.95. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,238.05. This represents a 85.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 47.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of DraftKings

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of DraftKings by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,758,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,368,000 after buying an additional 1,354,457 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in DraftKings in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,660,000. Spruce House Investment Management LLC increased its position in DraftKings by 129.6% in the 1st quarter. Spruce House Investment Management LLC now owns 9,650,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,633,000 after acquiring an additional 5,446,166 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in DraftKings by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 27,665,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new stake in DraftKings during the 4th quarter valued at $2,157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

DraftKings Company Profile

DraftKings Inc is a leading digital sports entertainment and gaming company specializing in daily fantasy sports, sports betting and iGaming products. The company provides an integrated platform where users can participate in daily fantasy contests, place wagers on professional sports events, and enjoy a range of online casino-style games. DraftKings’ proprietary technology supports real-time odds, live scoring and advanced analytics to enhance the user experience across mobile and desktop applications.

Founded in 2012 by co-founders Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish and Paul Liberman, DraftKings began as a daily fantasy sports provider and rapidly expanded into regulated sports betting following legislative changes in the United States.