DraftKings Insiders Buy as Stock Tumbles

Posted on: November 29, 2021, 09:05h. 

Last updated on: November 29, 2021, 11:17h.

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

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) is mired in a lengthy slump, having shed nearly a quarter of its value over the past month. But some insiders are buying the dip.

DraftKings insider buying
DraftKings insider Harry Sloan, seen above, recently bought $2 million worth of the stock. Two other directors also bought the shares. (Image: Bloomberg)

Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicate several DraftKings directors recently purchased $2.6 million worth of the gaming company’s ailing shares. That’s a minuscule amount relative to DraftKings’ market value of $29.18 billion. But the purchases are significant for another reason.

These are the first buys of the stock on the open market by insiders since the online sportsbook operator became a freestanding publicly traded entity in April 2020.

A significant headwind for DraftKings in its time as a public company has been a spate of selling by insiders and early investors, coupled with equity offerings to raise capital. The company also sold $1.15 billion worth of convertible debt in July. Those bonds can later be converted to equity.

Who’s Buying DraftKings Stock

A Form 4 SEC filing indicates CFO Jason Park bought 28,000 shares of DraftKings Class A stock on Nov. 23.

The Class A shares carry one vote per share, but the Class B stock carries 10 votes per share. Co-founder and CEO Jason Robins controls about 93 percent of the stock with super-voting rights. That allows him to maintain significant influence over the entity while preventing outsiders, such as activist investors, from exerting many manipulations.

Another Form 4 filing indicates Chief Accounting Officer Erik Bradbury recently purchased nearly 260 shares of DraftKings stock.

The most significant insider purchase came by way of board member and Vice Chairman Harry Sloan, who bought $2 million worth of the stock. Formerly Chairman and CEO of entertainment giant Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sloan was involved with Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp., the blank check company DraftKings executed a reverse merger with to become a publicly traded firm.

Insider Buying Could Be Positive Sign

While the purchases at DraftKings are modest, it could be a positive for the beaten-up stock, because insiders only buy for one reason: because they believe the stock is going up.

It remains to be seen if the aforementioned insiders spark others to follow suit. But it’s clear those doing the recent buying are stepping into a battered stock. DraftKings stock is down 40 percent over the past 90 days and would need to more than double to return to its 52-week high.

Recently, analysts questioned when DraftKings will cease losing money and turn profitable on the basis of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). Some market observers extended that timeline from 2024 to 2025.