{"id":2102,"date":"2024-08-16T22:11:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T22:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/?p=2102"},"modified":"2024-08-21T14:22:59","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T14:22:59","slug":"penn-entertainment-has-unrecognized-value-says-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/2024\/08\/16\/penn-entertainment-has-unrecognized-value-says-analyst\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn Entertainment Has \u2018Unrecognized Value,\u2019 Says Analyst"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shares of Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) are on a wild ride as highlighted by a 26% year-to-date drop and a 20.7% surge over the past 90 days \u2014 the latter indicating the potential is there for a durable resurgence.<\/p>\n

\"ESPN
The ESPN Bet logo. An analyst is constructive on operator Penn Entertainment, citing multiple factors. (Image: ESPN Bet)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some analysts remain constructive on the battered regional casino stock. For example, Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas recently met with Penn management, prompting him to reiterate a \u201cbuy\u201d rating and $25 price target. That implies upside of almost 30% from today\u2019s closing print at $19.24.<\/p>\n

\n

The stock has been a battleground of late amid rumors that the company is a takeover target<\/a> and with a vital football season nearing \u2014 one that could go a long way in determining the fate of ESPN Bet. Those issues may be distracting from Jonas calls \u201clargely steady\u201d trends at Penn\u2019s land-based casinos, compelling the analyst to observe Penn possesses \u201creal unrecognized value.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Takeover chatter pertaining to Penn started in late May when investor the Donerail Group sent a letter<\/a> to the gaming company\u2019s board of directors encouraging it to sell itself to increase shareholder value. Since then, analysts have consistently said such a transaction is unlikely and it\u2019s probable that Penn is not a willing seller.<\/p>\n

LaBerge Hire Could Be Meaningful for Penn<\/h2>\n

With some industry observers viewing the 2024 football seasons as make-or-break time for ESPN Bet, Penn\u2019s hiring of former Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) executive Aaron LaBerge<\/a> as chief technology officer (CTO) could bear fruit.<\/p>\n

\n

Though he hasn\u2019t worked in the gaming space before, we believe the benefits of his prior experience far outweigh any online sports betting-specific intricacies (which can be learned), especially with strong support at PENN,\u201d wrote Jonas.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While at Disney, LaBerge played important roles in developing the company\u2019s non-theme park mobile applications, including one for ESPN<\/em> and another for the sports network\u2019s fantasy sports games.<\/p>\n

Jonas added that at a time when Penn\u2019s ESPN Bet is attempting to close the gap with rivals DraftKings and FanDuel, LaBerge could be a valuable addition to the gaming company because while at Disney, he had experience developing tech to address rivalries. Jonas cited the example of Disney vs. Neflix in streaming entertainment.<\/p>\n

Netflix \u201chad a 10-year and many-million-subscribers head start, though DIS was able to compete in time as its product became increasingly sophisticated,\u201d noted Jonas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

More ESPN Bet Insight<\/h2>\n

The bulk of Penn\u2019s earnings and revenue are derived from its land-based casinos, but ESPN Bet has taken center stage in the eyes of many investors. That makes Penn\u2019s planned enhancements<\/a> to the sports betting app pivotal.<\/p>\n

Jonas pointed out that ESPN Bet growth is likely to be gradual, but he applauded the operator\u2019s efforts in catering to both avid and recreational bettors. The analyst added the app is gaining above-average traction with female bettors.<\/p>\n

An area to keep an eye on is Penn\u2019s ability to smooth out some issues with Hollywood Casino-branded iGaming platform, which to date hasn\u2019t materially benefited from conversions from ESPN Bet. Jonas said management is highly focused on improving iGaming execution.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Penn Entertainment Has \u2018Unrecognized Value,\u2019 Says Analyst<\/a> appeared first on Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shares of Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) are on a wild ride as highlighted by a 26% year-to-date drop and a 20.7% surge over the past 90 days \u2014 the latter indicating the potential is there for a durable resurgence. The ESPN Bet logo. An analyst is constructive on operator Penn Entertainment, citing multiple factors. (Image:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2102"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2103,"href":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102\/revisions\/2103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stakery.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}