Tiger Global Initiates Flutter Stake, Einhorn Adds to Penn Position

Posted on: November 14, 2024, 07:40h. 

Last updated on: November 15, 2024, 09:27h.

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

Despite the stock being down 19.52% year to date, Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) was among the positions David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital added to during the third quarter.

Einhorn Betway
Greenlight Capital founder David Einhorn at the World Series of Poker. His hedge fund added to its stake in Penn Entertainment in the third quarter. (Image: Institutional Investor)

A new 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicates Einhorn’s hedge fund held approximately 5.6 million shares of the regional casino operator at the end of the third quarter. That stake would be worth more than $117 million based on Penn’s Thursday closing price of $20.94, assuming Greenlight hasn’t altered its position in the stock since the start of the current quarter.

That’s below the average price of $22.69 Greenlight paid when establishing its Penn position in the first quarter. At that time, Einhorn argued markets were assigning negative value to Penn’s ESPN Bet unit, noting that should the online sports betting business capture just a fraction of the value of rival DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), it could be worth as much as $20 a share to Penn stock.

Currently, Penn is Greenlight’s only direct gaming investment, though the money manager has a position in Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IAC), which is the largest noninstitutional shareholder in MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM).

Tiger Global Takes Big Flutter Position

FanDuel Parent Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT) was also among the gaming stocks well-known professional market participants stepped into during the July through September period.

During that time, Chase Coleman III’s Tiger Global Management, which runs an estimated $46 billion in assets, initiated a new position in the Dublin-based gaming company, buying 3.38M shares. Coleman is one of the “Tiger Cubs” — acolytes of the late Julian Robertson.

Robertson, along with George Soros, are viewed as among the pioneers behind macro hedge funds. Speaking of Soros, his investment vehicle Soros Capital Management, reported a position in Flutter of 94,496 shares at the end of the third quarter, up dramatically from the 5,020 shares it owned at the end of June.

Soros has a lengthy history of involvement with gaming equities, but most of his investments in the space have lasted mere months, not years.

Flutter Gaining More Appeal with Pros

Soros Capital Management and Tiger Global Management are just two examples, but they represent further proof of the validity of Flutter listing its shares in New York and later moving its primary listing to that city from London.

Those moves, which occurred earlier this year, were aimed at boosting the stock’s liquidity and broadening its investor audience among both professionals and retail market participants.

With a few 13F filing seasons in the books since Flutter listed in New York, it’s clear the move has had the desired impact of bringing more institutional investors into the fold.