DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,620,000 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the December 15th total of 18,810,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

DraftKings Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ DKNG traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.29. 7,138,308 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,983,014. DraftKings has a twelve month low of $28.69 and a twelve month high of $49.57. The firm has a market cap of $34.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.65, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by ($0.18). DraftKings had a negative return on equity of 41.23% and a negative net margin of 9.06%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that DraftKings will post -0.83 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on DraftKings from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of DraftKings in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of DraftKings in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities cut their price target on shares of DraftKings from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of DraftKings from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at DraftKings

In other DraftKings news, insider Paul Liberman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $7,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,342,722 shares in the company, valued at $52,366,158. This represents a 12.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R Stanton Dodge sold 228,496 shares of DraftKings stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.74, for a total transaction of $9,765,919.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 541,884 shares in the company, valued at $23,160,122.16. This represents a 29.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,052,183 shares of company stock valued at $41,303,025. Company insiders own 48.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in DraftKings by 53.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 9,410,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,269,932 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of DraftKings by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,985,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,361,000 after buying an additional 284,131 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of DraftKings by 14.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,467,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,509,000 after buying an additional 826,626 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its stake in DraftKings by 46.6% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 4,643,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,039,000 after buying an additional 1,476,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in DraftKings by 29.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,877,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,905,000 after acquiring an additional 870,789 shares during the period. 37.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

DraftKings Company Profile

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.