{"id":323692,"date":"2024-06-25T15:00:40","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T20:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=323692"},"modified":"2024-06-26T10:10:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T15:10:18","slug":"penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn Downgraded as Analyst Sees Little Hope of Near-Term Sale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shares of Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) slumped Tuesday after an analyst downgraded the stock, in part citing long odds that the regional casino operator sells itself over the near term.<\/p>\n

\"ESPN
The ESPN Bet logo. Operator Penn Entertainment probably won’t sell itself over the near term. (Image: ESPN Bet)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a note to clients on Tuesday, Raymond James RJ Milligan lowered Penn to \u201cmarket perform\u201d from \u201coutperform\u201d while setting a price target of $20 on the stock. That implies upside of about 8.1% from where the shares trade at this writing.<\/p>\n

Given the path to profitability in digital still remains uncertain, and we don\u2019t expect any dramatic shift in strategy (e.g., an outright sale of the company) in the near-term, we are recommending investors take profits and look for better risk-adjusted opportunities in the sector,\u201d wrote Milligan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The analyst\u2019s commentary arrived just days after reports surfaced indicating that Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) may be considering a takeover bid of more than $9 billion<\/a> for Penn. Shares of Penn have rallied since late May when the Donerail Group, a major investor in the gaming company, sent a letter to the board of directors pushing for a sail.<\/p>\n

Penn Waiting on ESPN Bet Football Uptick<\/h2>\n

In the wake of the Boyd rumor, the prevailing consensus among sell-side analysts is that it\u2019s not surprising the Orleans operator might be interested in rival Penn, but that getting a deal completed is easier said than done.<\/p>\n

\n

Multiple reasons fortify that thesis, including Penn not yet signaling it\u2019s open to a sale. Analysts believe the company might consider divesting some regional casinos, but a transaction for Penn in its entirety probably isn\u2019t the near-term cards<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Additionally, Penn is viewed as wanting to evaluate the performance of its ESPN Bet mobile sports wagering application over a full football season — an opportunity presenting itself this year. The app debuted last November.<\/p>\n

Among others, those moving parts are among the reasons Milligan encouraged clients to take profits in Penn and look for better risk-adjusted opportunities in the gaming space. Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR) is Raymond James\u2019 top pick.<\/p>\n

ESPN Bet Could Loom Large in Deal for Penn<\/h2>\n

Penn\u2019s commitment to ESPN Bet, which was heavily criticized by Donerail, could be a significant factor in a large-scale transaction and, potentially, the company\u2019s ultimate decision to sell itself or continue as an independent entity.<\/p>\n

\n

Specific to Boyd, some analysts believe that owing to that operator\u2019s 5% stake in FanDuel — the largest online sportsbook in the US — it would have no interest in ESPN Bet and would likely want Penn to find another buyer<\/a> for that unit as part of a possible agreement to acquire the company\u2019s land-based casinos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Locating an acquirer for ESPN Bet could also be easier said than done due to Penn\u2019s relationship with ESPN<\/em> parent Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) and ESPN Bet\u2019s currently modest market share.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shares of Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) slumped Tuesday after an analyst downgraded the stock, in part citing long odds that the regional casino operator sells itself over the near term. In a note to clients on Tuesday, Raymond James RJ Milligan lowered Penn to \u201cmarket perform\u201d from \u201coutperform\u201d while setting a price target of $20 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":294561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,32093,1],"tags":[81903,81966,81967],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPenn Entertainment Near-Term Sale Unlikely, Says Analyst<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Penn Entertainment Downgraded as Analyst Sees Little Hope Near-Term of Sale.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Penn Entertainment Near-Term Sale Unlikely, Says Analyst\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Penn Entertainment Downgraded as Analyst Sees Little Hope Near-Term of Sale.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-25T20:00:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-26T15:10:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ESPN-BET-Logo-Primary-1352x1080-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst\/\",\"name\":\"Penn Entertainment Near-Term Sale Unlikely, Says Analyst\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ESPN-BET-Logo-Primary-1352x1080-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-25T20:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-26T15:10:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Penn Entertainment Downgraded as Analyst Sees Little Hope Near-Term of Sale.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/penn-entertainment-near-term-sale-unlikely-says-analyst\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ESPN-BET-Logo-Primary-1352x1080-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ESPN-BET-Logo-Primary-1352x1080-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"The ESPN Bet logo. 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