Sports betting operator DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG) received an upgrade from Stifel analyst Jeffrey A. Stantial. The move comes amid the NFL playoffs and ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.
The DraftKings Analyst: Stantial upgraded shares of the Boston-based company from Hold to Buy. He also raised the price target from $40 to $45.
The Analyst Takeaways: Stantial cites same-state handle growth, hold-rate expansion, marketing discipline and EBITDA upside as reasons for the upgrade.
"We take advantage of the slight correction, as we argue near-term share headwinds are fading," Stantial said.
It's "time to take the over" on DraftKings, Stantial said, referring to the act of betting on teams to score a higher amount of points than expected.
Stantial said there remains some caution with the upgrade and upside. DraftKings may have lost market share in the last quarter due to PENN Entertainment's (NASDAQ:PENN) ESPN Bet.
But the analyst sees ESPN Bet's easing on promotions helping DraftKings.
"We expect market share headwinds to ease in Jan/Feb, and hence opportunistically upgrade shares following the recent pullback," Stantial adds.
While some people joined the sports betting sector through ESPN Bet, Stantial argues this could increase the overall market size. People may make the switch to DraftKings or FanDuel as "retention is driven primarily by betting product quality."
The analyst calls DraftKings and FanDuel "clear best-in-class" for the sector.
One potential item for investors to watch is Flutter Entertainment's (OTC:PDYPY) listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Flutter, which is currently OTC, is the parent company of FanDuel.
"We've heard some investors call out risk of rotation from DraftKings into Flutter thereafter, arguing that DraftKings has benefited from scarcity value as the sole U.S. listed operator of-scale."
What Other Analysts Are Saying: On Friday, Exane BNP Paribas analyst Alistair Johnson downgraded shares of DraftKings from Neutral to Underperform and has a $28 price target.
Earlier this month, BMO Capital analyst Brian Pitz initiated shares with an Outperform rating and $43 price target.
"We see a vast opportunity as more states legalize, allowing DraftKings to dramatically expand its footprint and profitability," Pitz said.
Pitz expects the U.S. market for online sports betting and iGaming to surpass $100 billion if every state legalized it.
Needham analyst Bernie McTernan reiterated a Buy rating and $50 price target on the company in December.
DKNG Price Action: DraftKings shares are down 2% to $36.90 on Friday versus a 52-week trading range of $13.41 to $39.35.
体育博彩运营商DraftKings Inc（纳斯达克股票代码：DKNG）获得了Stifel分析师杰弗里·斯坦蒂尔的升级。此举是在NFL季后赛和超级碗LVIII之前采取的。
DraftKings分析师：Stantial将这家总部位于波士顿的公司的股票从持有上调至买入。他还将目标股价从40美元上调至45美元。
分析师要点：Stantial将同州的账面增长、持有率扩张、营销纪律和息税折旧摊销前利润上行列为升级的原因。
斯坦蒂尔说：“我们利用了小幅回调，因为我们认为短期股市的不利因素正在消退。”
斯坦蒂尔说，现在是 “接管DraftKings的时候了”，他指的是押注球队获得比预期更高的分数的行为。
Stantial表示，对升级和上行空间仍持谨慎态度。由于宾夕法尼亚娱乐公司（纳斯达克股票代码：PENN）的ESPN投注，DraftKings可能在上个季度失去了市场份额。
但这位分析师认为，ESPN Bet放松促销活动对DraftKings有所帮助。
Stantial补充说：“我们预计市场份额的不利因素将在1月/2月有所缓解，因此在最近的回调之后会机会性地上调股价。”
尽管有些人通过ESPN Bet加入体育博彩行业，但Stantial认为这可能会扩大整体市场规模。人们可能会转向DraftKings或FanDuel，因为 “留存率主要是由博彩产品的质量驱动的”。
这位分析师称DraftKings和FanDuel在该行业 “显然是同类最佳的”。
投资者可能关注的一个项目是Flutter Entertainment（场外交易代码：PDYPY）在纽约证券交易所的上市。现为场外交易的Flutter是FanDuel的母公司。
“我们听到一些投资者指出了此后从DraftKings转向Flutter的风险，他们认为DraftKings作为唯一的美国上市运营商受益于稀缺价值。”
其他分析师在说什么：周五，Exane BNP Paribas分析师阿利斯泰尔·约翰逊将DraftKings的股票评级从中性下调至表现不佳，目标股价为28美元。
本月早些时候，BMO Capital分析师布莱恩·皮茨以跑赢大盘和43美元的目标股价启动了股票。
皮茨说：“随着越来越多的州合法化，我们看到了巨大的机遇，这使DraftKings能够显著扩大其足迹和盈利能力。”
皮茨预计，如果每个州都将在线体育博彩和iGaming合法化，美国的在线体育博彩和iGaming市场将超过1000亿美元。
Needham分析师伯尼·麦克特南在12月重申了对该公司的买入评级和50美元的目标股价。
DKNG价格走势：周五，DraftKings股价下跌2％，至36.90美元，而52周的交易区间为13.41美元至39.35美元。
