Short Interest in DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) Increases By 20.3%

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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 daily volume of 8,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

DraftKings Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of DKNG traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $39.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,138,308 shares, 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 stock has a market capitalization of $34.60 billion, a PE ratio of -44.65, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.65 and a 200-day moving average of $37.97.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. DraftKings had a negative return on equity of 41.23% and a negative net margin of 9.06%. Equities analysts predict that DraftKings will post -0.83 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul Liberman sold 88,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.41, for a total transaction of $3,220,136.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,923,483 shares in the company, valued at $70,034,016.03. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 directly owns 541,884 shares in the company, valued at $23,160,122.16. This trade represents a 29.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,052,183 shares of company stock worth $41,303,025 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 48.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DraftKings

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in DraftKings by 14.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 234,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,203,000 after acquiring an additional 29,991 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC purchased a new position in shares of DraftKings in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,028,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in DraftKings by 51.6% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 378,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,826,000 after buying an additional 128,676 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in DraftKings by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,175,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,470,000 after buying an additional 86,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in DraftKings by 238.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 496,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,481,000 after acquiring an additional 350,215 shares during the period. 37.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DKNG shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of DraftKings in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on DraftKings from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of DraftKings in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on DraftKings from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on DraftKings from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.08.

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.