Short Interest in DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) Expands By 10.0%

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) saw a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,800,000 shares, an increase of 10.0% from the August 31st total of 23,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

DraftKings Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ DKNG traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.83. The stock had a trading volume of 4,627,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,601,412. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.34. DraftKings has a twelve month low of $25.73 and a twelve month high of $49.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $32.88 billion, a PE ratio of -33.22 and a beta of 1.80.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. DraftKings had a negative return on equity of 43.11% and a negative net margin of 9.45%. DraftKings’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that DraftKings will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other DraftKings news, insider Paul Liberman sold 643,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total value of $26,544,290.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 137,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,662,581.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jason Robins sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.25, for a total transaction of $7,050,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,678,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,402,390.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Liberman sold 643,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total value of $26,544,290.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 137,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,662,581.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,195,301 shares of company stock valued at $45,355,362 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of DraftKings

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DKNG. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in DraftKings by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 9,410,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,269,932 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of DraftKings by 148.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,235,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,528,503 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in DraftKings during the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,829,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in DraftKings by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,263,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,384,053,000 after buying an additional 2,225,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of DraftKings by 1,048.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,888,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim decreased their price target on DraftKings from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Susquehanna increased their target price on DraftKings from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of DraftKings in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of DraftKings from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of DraftKings in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, DraftKings currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.74.

About DraftKings

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.