Investors Buy Large Volume of PENN Entertainment Call Options (NASDAQ:PENN)

PENN Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 26,686 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 56% compared to the average daily volume of 17,116 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at PENN Entertainment

In related news, Director David A. Handler bought 10,000 shares of PENN Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.83 per share, with a total value of $148,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 322,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,789,215.03. This represents a 3.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jay A. Snowden purchased 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.70 per share, with a total value of $499,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,082,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,914,587.50. This represents a 3.24% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of PENN Entertainment in the first quarter worth $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in PENN Entertainment by 201.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in PENN Entertainment by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in PENN Entertainment by 201.1% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in PENN Entertainment in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PENN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of PENN Entertainment from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of PENN Entertainment from $17.50 to $16.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup raised shares of PENN Entertainment to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of PENN Entertainment from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.15.

PENN Entertainment Stock Up 4.9%

Shares of NASDAQ PENN opened at $18.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of -29.45 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.80 and a 200-day moving average of $17.73. PENN Entertainment has a 52-week low of $13.25 and a 52-week high of $23.08.

PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.04. PENN Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 5.75% and a negative net margin of 1.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.76) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that PENN Entertainment will post -1.61 EPS for the current year.

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.