DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on DKNG. Barclays cut their price objective on DraftKings from $44.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim set a $37.00 price target on shares of DraftKings in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $28.00 price target on shares of DraftKings in a research report on Monday, February 16th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of DraftKings from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded shares of DraftKings to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.89.

DraftKings Trading Down 0.8%

DKNG opened at $22.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -557.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.67. DraftKings has a 12 month low of $21.01 and a 12 month high of $49.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Erik Bradbury sold 7,268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.50, for a total value of $163,530.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,560. The trade was a 16.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Harry Sloan bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.85 per share, with a total value of $2,185,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 350,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,652,285.15. This trade represents a 39.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 112,822 shares of company stock worth $3,638,895. 51.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of DraftKings

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of DraftKings by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,758,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,542,368,000 after buying an additional 1,354,457 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in DraftKings by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 25,313,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $858,893,000 after acquiring an additional 8,524,923 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP increased its stake in DraftKings by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 19,119,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $658,872,000 after purchasing an additional 4,116,561 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of DraftKings by 181.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,626,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $641,867,000 after purchasing an additional 12,008,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of DraftKings by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,474,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,694,000 after purchasing an additional 4,788,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

More DraftKings News

Here are the key news stories impacting DraftKings this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Harry Sloan bought 100,000 shares (~$2.185M), increasing his stake ~40% — a strong insider signal that can bolster investor confidence. Harry Sloan SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays published a buy rating on DraftKings, providing institutional validation that likely helped limit the selloff. Barclays buy note
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/market expansion note — FanDuel and DraftKings are exploring a launch in Arkansas; potential new-state entry is positive for long-term growth but timing and economics remain uncertain. Arkansas launch coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest posts in recent feeds show zero/invalid values (data glitch), so short-interest signals aren’t currently informative for today’s move. (Reported days-to-cover = 0.0.)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple major brokers trimmed price targets (Needham, Oppenheimer, JPMorgan, Citi, Truist, Mizuho and others), with Needham cutting its PT to $35 after a Q4 earnings miss and weaker FY26 revenue guidance — this raises near-term downside pressure. Needham PT cut
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks added DKNG to its Rank #5 (Strong Sell) list, a headline that can trigger short-term selling from momentum and quant funds. Zacks strong sell list
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by CAO Erik Bradbury (7,268 shares) was disclosed; while small versus the Sloan buy, insider sales can be interpreted as mixed insider signals and add to bearish headlines. Bradbury SEC filing

DraftKings Company Profile

DraftKings Inc is a leading digital sports entertainment and gaming company specializing in daily fantasy sports, sports betting and iGaming products. The company provides an integrated platform where users can participate in daily fantasy contests, place wagers on professional sports events, and enjoy a range of online casino-style games. DraftKings’ proprietary technology supports real-time odds, live scoring and advanced analytics to enhance the user experience across mobile and desktop applications.

Founded in 2012 by co-founders Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish and Paul Liberman, DraftKings began as a daily fantasy sports provider and rapidly expanded into regulated sports betting following legislative changes in the United States.