PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of PENN Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $16.35, but opened at $17.88. PENN Entertainment shares last traded at $15.8080, with a volume of 4,825,360 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PENN. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on PENN Entertainment from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on PENN Entertainment from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered PENN Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.80.

PENN Entertainment Stock Down 4.6%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.44 and a 200-day moving average of $17.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.12). PENN Entertainment had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a negative return on equity of 4.36%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that PENN Entertainment, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PENN Entertainment

In related news, Director David A. Handler bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.96 per share, for a total transaction of $339,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 342,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,816,279.36. This represents a 6.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PENN Entertainment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PENN Entertainment by 152.2% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of PENN Entertainment during the first quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in PENN Entertainment by 38.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in PENN Entertainment in the first quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PENN Entertainment in the third quarter valued at $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

PENN Entertainment Company Profile

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.