Stock Traders Buy High Volume of DraftKings Call Options (NASDAQ:DKNG)

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 72,788 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 71% compared to the average daily volume of 42,619 call options.

DraftKings Trading Up 5.4%

NASDAQ DKNG traded up $1.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.10. The stock had a trading volume of 7,494,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,140,021. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 417.27 and a beta of 1.67. DraftKings has a one year low of $20.46 and a one year high of $48.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.87.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. DraftKings had a return on equity of 13.51% and a net margin of 0.93%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.07) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that DraftKings will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on DKNG shares. Freedom Capital raised shares of DraftKings to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. HSBC raised shares of DraftKings from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Northland Securities set a $27.00 price target on shares of DraftKings in a report on Monday, May 11th. Moffett Nathanson downgraded shares of DraftKings from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $38.00 to $27.00 in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of DraftKings from $54.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, DraftKings has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.32.

Insider Activity at DraftKings

In other DraftKings news, CAO Erik Bradbury sold 2,883 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.56, for a total transaction of $70,806.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 38,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $937,406.08. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Liberman sold 484,417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.16, for a total transaction of $12,187,931.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 213,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,374,100.52. This trade represents a 69.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 524,546 shares of company stock worth $13,215,769 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 47.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of DraftKings

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ariadne Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in DraftKings by 11.8% in the first quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP now owns 12,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in DraftKings in the first quarter worth about $4,473,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in DraftKings by 9.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 27,665,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351,790 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in DraftKings by 25.5% in the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 13,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of DraftKings during the first quarter valued at approximately $758,000. Institutional investors own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

About DraftKings

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.