DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on DKNG. BTIG Research decreased their target price 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $35.00 price target on shares of DraftKings in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of DraftKings in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on DraftKings from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on DraftKings from $52.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, DraftKings has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.89.

DraftKings Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of DKNG opened at $22.31 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.48. DraftKings has a twelve month low of $21.01 and a twelve month high of $49.59. The stock has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of -557.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91.

Insider Activity

In other DraftKings news, CAO Erik Bradbury sold 7,268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.50, for a total value of $163,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 36,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $826,560. This represents a 16.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R Stanton Dodge sold 52,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.01, for a total transaction of $1,689,391.77. Following the transaction, the insider owned 500,000 shares in the company, valued at $16,005,000. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 112,822 shares of company stock worth $3,638,895. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DraftKings

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DKNG. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in DraftKings by 1,996.2% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 421,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,205,000 after purchasing an additional 401,037 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of DraftKings by 1.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,473,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,494,000 after buying an additional 79,152 shares during the period. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. raised its holdings in DraftKings by 926.0% during the 2nd quarter. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. now owns 114,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,889,000 after buying an additional 102,889 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in DraftKings by 121.4% during the 2nd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 39,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after buying an additional 21,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in DraftKings by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,361,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,415,000 after buying an additional 124,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting DraftKings

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

About DraftKings

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.