Stock Traders Buy High Volume of PENN Entertainment Call Options (NASDAQ:PENN)

PENN Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 25,071 call options on the company. This is an increase of 39% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,984 call options.

PENN Entertainment Stock Performance

PENN Entertainment stock traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $20.94. 2,726,421 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,365,732. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 2.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. PENN Entertainment has a 52-week low of $13.50 and a 52-week high of $23.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.88 and its 200 day moving average is $19.40.

PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. PENN Entertainment had a negative net margin of 8.51% and a negative return on equity of 14.44%. PENN Entertainment’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Analysts predict that PENN Entertainment will post -1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of PENN Entertainment from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of PENN Entertainment in a report on Friday, November 8th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of PENN Entertainment from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PENN Entertainment from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of PENN Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.44.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PENN Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PENN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in PENN Entertainment by 1,051.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,421,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,809,000 after buying an additional 1,297,976 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in PENN Entertainment during the fourth quarter valued at $27,805,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PENN Entertainment by 12.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,179,000 after acquiring an additional 146,645 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in PENN Entertainment by 103.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 768,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,494,000 after purchasing an additional 391,640 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PENN Entertainment by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 725,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,372,000 after purchasing an additional 20,662 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PENN Entertainment

PENN Entertainment, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming experiences. The company operates through five segments: Northeast, South, West, Midwest, and Interactive. It operates online sports betting in various jurisdictions; and iCasino under Hollywood Casino, L'Auberge, ESPN BET, and theScore Bet Sportsbook and Casino brands.