PENN Entertainment Stock Soars After Strong ESPN Bet Numbers

Less than a week after ESPN Bet launched, PENN Entertainment is already reaping the benefits from its multi-million dollar partnership.

According to Bank of America Securities analyst Shawn Kelley, ESPN Bet has dominated the app charts since its release, and based on the early date, he has upgraded PENN to “Buy” from “Neutral.”

Photo: ESPN

“ESPN Bet is dominating initial download activity and charts, proving it is cutting through to customers,” Kelley wrote in a research note.

Photo: ESPN

The analyst also noted that the ESPN Bet app has been in the top two sports of all free apps in the iOS store since last Tuesday.

PENN Looks to Increase Market Share

Based on the news, stocks in PENN took off Monday, eventually closing up 6.84% on the day. While ESPN Bet is off to a good start, it remains to be seen whether or not PENN can increase its market share in the always competitive gambling space.

Photo: CNBC

The launch of ESPN Bet has not included the kind of promotions that many veteran gamblers were hoping for.

Instead, Penn seems to be banking on popular ESPN stars like Mike Greenberg and Elle Duncan to drive users to its app.

DraftKings Continues to Dominate

While the launch was clearly a success for PENN, DraftKings and FanDuel remain the kings of sports gambling. DraftKings stock has climbed 239% this year. Earlier this month, the sports-betting company reported that its unique players increased by 40% in the third quarter year over year.

Photo: AP

BTIG analyst Clark Lempen increased his price target for DraftKings from $38 to $47. “While shares have more than doubled since we upgraded in mid-February, we still don’t believe they fully discount the fundamental upside potentially ahead and a higher probability of realizing that upside, per recent improvements in economics and execution,” Lampen wrote.

With ESPN Bet’s hot start, the question will shift to whether or not the app can hold the consumers that it brings in. So far so good.

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