Cathie Wood Dumps 294K DraftKings Shares

Posted on: April 6, 2023, 02:02h. 

Last updated on: April 7, 2023, 03:05h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

In one of its largest sales of the stock since building its stake in the gaming company more than three years ago, Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management sold more than 294K shares of DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) on Tuesday.

ARK Invest
ARK Investment Management founder Cathie Wood. Her firm trimmed its DraftKings exposure on April 5. (Image: The Street)

To be precise, the issuer of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) sold 294,143 shares of the sportsbook operator on April 5 as the stock tumbled, participating in a broader market sell-off stoked by a disappointing March private sector jobs forecast.

Florida-based ARK sold 252,502 from the ARK Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKK), the issuer’s largest ETF measured by assets under management. Another 41,641 shares of the gaming company were removed from the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKW).

Those transactions follow comparable moves in late February in which the money manager sold 207,747 shares of the gaming company. ARK’s February sales of DraftKings also pertained to the aforementioned pair of ETFs.

Shares of DraftKings, in which ARK Investment Management remains one of the largest institutional owners, are higher by 58.63% year to date.

Analyst Bullish on DraftKings

A day after ARK trimmed its still sizable DraftKings position, a sell-side analyst revealed a bullish view on the gaming stock.

In a note to clients on Thursday, Argus analyst John Staszak reiterated a “buy” rating and a $22 price target on DraftKings stock. That implies upside of about 22% from the April 5 close. He estimates the gaming company will generate $3.1 billion in revenue this year, ahead of the $2.95 billion that is the operator’s midpoint for this year’s guidance and above the $3 billion Wall Street is forecasting.

Citing declining customer acquisition costs, Staszak told clients DraftKings could turn profitable in the third quarter of 2024. From there, the gaming company could generate a five-year earnings growth rate of 25%.

Boston-based DraftKings previously told investors it expects to be profitable in 2024. But it didn’t pinpoint a quarter in which that will happen.

ARK Joins Robins in Reducing DraftKings Stake

The events aren’t related, but ARK’s April 5 sale of DraftKings arrived less than two weeks after cofounders Jason Robins and Matthew Kalish sold 600K shares of the stock.

That news broke a day after CEO Robins took to Twitter, speaking glowingly about DraftKings’ long-term prospects. While his tweet storm didn’t feature commentary on the stock, selling shares on the same day, he sounded bullish on social media isn’t a great look.

DraftKings’ late March news flow was interesting. It included Robins’ aforementioned tweets and subsequent share sale along with the publication of a 14A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). That regulatory document revealed that DraftKings not only spent nearly $2 million on a corporate jet and private security for Robins in 2022 but also that the company lavished more than $120 million in equity awards upon its three cofounders last year as the stock plunged.

According to some Twitter users, the real insult was DraftKings covering $131,607 in Robins’ 2022 Super Bowl expenses while investors were left holding the bag on a sagging stock.