DraftKings (DKNG) is up more than 15% in 2024 through April 25, easily outperforming the S&P 500's roughly 6% gain. Analysts are overwhelmingly bullish on the sports betting stock ahead of the NFL draft, which kicks off tonight at 8 pm Eastern time.
Speaking for the bulls is Needham analyst Bernie McTernan, who added DraftKings to his Conviction List on March 27. The analyst maintained his Buy rating and raised his price target to $58 from $54, representing implied upside of about 43% to current levels.
"The market seems to be putting a greater emphasis on growth now, and we believe DKNG has the best growth outlook in our coverage over the next 24 months, especially factoring in valuation and estimated risk-reward," McTernan says. "We are bullish on the potential for near-term market access gains, per capita spending continues to ramp in existing states and DKNG [to] maintain its first or second place position in all states.”
That same day, UBS reiterated its Buy rating and $56 price target on DraftKings' stock, implying upside of about 37% from current levels.
More recently, Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Joseph Stauff called DraftKings a Buy in an April 16 note.
The bullish outlook of these three firms is widely shared across Wall Street. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the consensus analyst target price for DraftKings stock is $51.45, representing implied upside of about 26% to current levels. Meanwhile, the consensus recommendation is a Buy.
DraftKings will make an appearance on next week's earnings calendar, disclosing its first-quarter results after the May 2 close. According to Yahoo Finance, analysts, on average, are targeting revenue of $1.1 billion, an increase of 45.7% year-over-year. Its per-share loss is expected to narrow to 28 cents from 87 cents in the year-ago period.
How to watch the NFL draft
The NFL draft may not be an immediate catalyst for the consumer discretionary stock. However, the players chosen this weekend will likely stoke interest in online sports betting once the regular season kicks off in September.
Indeed, in Q4 2023, DraftKings saw revenue spike 68% year-over-year and monthly unique payers jump 37%.
For those interested in seeing which players get picked up this weekend, there are several ways to watch the draft, according to the NFL.
On your TV, you can view it on NFL Network, ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
If you're watching on a connected TV, smartphone, tablet or other smart device, you can stream it on the NFL Plus app, ABC app, ESPN app or the Streaming En Vivo app.
In international markets, the NFL draft is available on the NFL Game Pass through DAZN.
If you just want to listen, you can do so on SiriusXM, Westwood One Sports or ESPN Radio.
