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

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 75,064 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 27% compared to the average volume of 59,139 call options.

DraftKings Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ DKNG traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $39.05. 8,528,292 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,188,861. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.94. DraftKings has a one year low of $28.69 and a one year high of $49.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DKNG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on DraftKings from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of DraftKings in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on DraftKings from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of DraftKings from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of DraftKings from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.22.

Insider Activity at DraftKings

In other DraftKings news, insider Jason Robins sold 200,000 shares of DraftKings stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.25, for a total transaction of $7,050,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,678,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,402,390.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Jason Robins sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.25, for a total value of $7,050,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,678,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,402,390.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Liberman sold 88,441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.41, for a total value 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 approximately $70,034,016.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,020,536 shares of company stock worth $39,966,465 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 48.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DraftKings

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of DraftKings by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,011,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,816,938,000 after purchasing an additional 747,937 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of DraftKings by 53.3% during 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of DraftKings by 8.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,777,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,518,000 after purchasing an additional 441,975 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in shares of DraftKings by 20.6% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 3,884,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,403,000 after purchasing an additional 663,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 870,789 shares during the last quarter. 37.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.