Topline
DraftKings stock has further room for growth even after rallying 150% this year, according to JPMorgan, as the pandemic darling continues to stage its comeback.
A DraftKings advertisement at Fenway Park in Boston, home of its headquarters.
Key Facts
JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff upgraded his recommendation for DraftKings from hold to buy in a Tuesday note to clients, upping his price target for shares from $26 to $37.
That implies 35% upside from DraftKings’ closing price Friday of $27.36.
Shares of the gambling firm rallied 5% to nearly $29 in early trading, the largest gain Tuesday of any American company with a market capitalization over $10 billion.
Greff indicated lower customer acquisition costs, a clearer path to profitability for the “appealing” gaming sector and increased market share were his chief justifications for a DraftKings rally, having previously upgraded his rating for DraftKings from sell to neutral just last month because of a selloff inspired by competitor Penn Entertainment’s deal with ESPN.
DraftKings “has a strong moat (product, scale, brand) that should allow it to compete against new entrants like Penn’s ESPNBet and Fanatics,” Greff optimistically stated about DraftKings’ ability to ward off increased competition.
Contra
DraftKings shares are still down 60% from their March 2021 peak of $71. That comes even as quarterly operating losses narrowed from $305 million to $77 million from Q2 2021 to Q2 2023.
Big Number
21. That’s how many states where DraftKings mobile sports betting operations are live, according to the company. DraftKings was only live in 12 states as of June 2021, telling Forbes at the time the legalization of sports betting was the top driver of growth for the company.
Key Background
DraftKings and rival FanDuel are by far the biggest U.S. mobile sports betting operators. Founded in 2012, DraftKings went public in April 2020 via a reverse merger, riding a surge in pandemic-era interest in at-home gambling to a 700% stock gain, before investors soured on the company’s mounting losses due largely to astronomical marketing costs. The company reported positive adjusted earnings in its latest quarter during which revenues soared 88% while marketing costs only grew 5%.
Further Reading