Traders Buy High Volume of PENN Entertainment Call Options (NASDAQ:PENN)

PENN Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 25,071 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 39% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,984 call options.

PENN Entertainment Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PENN opened at $20.90 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.86 and a 200-day moving average of $19.41. PENN Entertainment has a one year low of $13.50 and a one year high of $23.81. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 2.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. PENN Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 14.44% and a negative net margin of 8.51%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PENN Entertainment will post -1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PENN Entertainment

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in PENN Entertainment by 201.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of PENN Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in PENN Entertainment by 88.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in PENN Entertainment during the third quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in PENN Entertainment by 1,634.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 3,057 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of PENN Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on PENN Entertainment from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PENN Entertainment from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of PENN Entertainment in a report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.44.

About PENN Entertainment

PENN Entertainment, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming experiences. The company operates through five segments: Northeast, South, West, Midwest, and Interactive. It operates online sports betting in various jurisdictions; and iCasino under Hollywood Casino, L'Auberge, ESPN BET, and theScore Bet Sportsbook and Casino brands.