One Online Gambling Stock Has Jumped by 261% in the Past Year, Others Poised to Follow

The COVID-19 pandemic absolutely crushed gambling stocks in late March of last year. Exceptions have been limited to companies that also or exclusively offer online gambling. The recovery for some has been slow, but two initial public offerings and one big deal drove investment in the second half of 2020.

There have been two big winners since January of 2020, one solid winner and two that finished with more modest gains. Here’s a look at where they are and where analysts think they’re headed.

Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) had added more than 260% as of last Friday’s closing bell. The casino operator paid $163 million for a 36% stake in Barstool Sports, and that payoff was huge. As more states turn to gambling (including online gambling) to bolster revenues, Penn/Barstool is expected to see even more growth.

The stock’s 52-week high is $99.24, and shares traded at $99.20 in the noon hour Monday. The consensus price target on the stock is $79.93, and the high target is $115. Based on the high target, the potential upside is nearly 16%. The stock trades at 62 times expected 2021 earnings.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) came public in late April through a reverse merger with a blank-check company. Since the completion of the merger, the stock has added nearly 170%. Unlike Penn National, DraftKings is a pure-play online gambling stock. That’s both a good thing and a not-so-good thing as states look at legalizing gambling.

The stock’s 52-week high is $64.19, and it traded at around $53.60 Monday. The consensus price target on the stock is $59.87, and the high target is $115. DraftKings’ potential upside based on its 52-week high is 16.4% and more than 86% based on the high target. The stock is expected to lose $1.21 per share in 2021.

GAN Ltd. (NASDAQ: GAN) does not operate either online or brick-and-mortar casinos. The company provides software to online casino gaming and sports betting companies. Since coming public in May in a traditional IPO, GAN’s stock had added more than 50% as of last Friday.

GAN’s 52-week high is $28.95, and the stock recently traded at $22.57. The consensus price target on the stock is $28.35, and the high target is $30.00. Based on the 52-week high, the stock has a potential gain of 22%. At the high target, the potential upside is almost 33%. With expected earnings of $0.01 per share in 2021, the stock trades around 2,250 times expected earnings.

Skillz Inc. (NYSE: SKLZ) develops and operates an e-sports platform to host and connect mobile games and mobile e-sports tournaments both in the United States and internationally.

Since completing a reverse merger in mid-December, shares have added about 3.4% to post a high of $24.69. Since the merger with a blank check company was announced in early September, the stock has more than doubled. Shares currently trade around $23.20 and there are no analyst forecasts on the stock yet.

Golden Nugget Online Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: GNOG) came public in late December in a reverse merger with blank-check company Landcadia Holdings II. When the deal was announced in July, Landcadia’s publicly traded shares (LCA) spiked to more than $16. The company is focused on online casino gambling with slot machines and card games.

The company’s 52-week high is $26.00, and shares traded at around $19.80 in the noon hour Monday. There are no calls or forecasts on the stock yet.

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