JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff has upgraded sports betting company DraftKings to overweight from neutral, citing a recent bout of underperformance. He raised his price target for the stock by $11 to $37, which implies a potential upside of 35.2% from the previous day’s closing price. Greff believes that DraftKings is an appealing sector, with strong growth prospects in both same-store sales and new markets. Despite a pullback of around 13% since July, DraftKings has seen significant gains this year, surging over 140% since the beginning of 2023.
According to Greff, DraftKings is well-positioned to compete against newer entrants in the sports betting market, like Penn Entertainment’s ESPNBet and Fanatics, due to its established product, scale, and brand. He also highlighted the potential improvement in the company’s operating expense environment, as it relies less on revenue from new markets. These newer spaces often require significant investments in user acquisition costs and upfront expenses, which can impact profitability. Greff expects the sports betting market in the U.S. and Ontario to reach $23.2 billion by 2030, and the iGaming market to near $13.5 billion over the same period.
Overall, the upgrade by JPMorgan has sparked investor interest, with DraftKings’ stock rising 3.7% in premarket trading following the announcement. Despite recent underperformance, the company has shown strong growth this year and is expected to benefit from the continued expansion of the sports betting and iGaming markets. Greff’s optimistic outlook and raised price target suggest that DraftKings could be an attractive investment opportunity, particularly considering its position in the industry and potential for future growth.