DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG) shares are trading higher by 4.4% to $37.83 during Monday’s session. Needham & Company reiterated its Buy rating on the stock, despite trimming the price target from $65 to $60.
What Else: In Needham’s note, analysts highlighted improving sentiment following better-than-feared handle trends in the first quarter. DraftKings posted 16% year-over-year handle growth, accelerating from the previous quarter and notably outperforming FanDuel.
Analysts credited DraftKings' product-driven strategy--especially in live betting, now over half of its total handle--as a key advantage. MLB live betting was singled out for growing 36% year-over-year in April.
While iGaming growth decelerated to 15% in the first-quarter, Needham expects a rebound in the second-quarter, backed by April momentum and product improvements.
Read Also: Unfavorable Sports Outcomes Have Negatively Affected DraftKings’ Outlook: Analyst
What Else: Despite first-quarter revenue of $1.41 billion and EPS of 12 cents both falling short of expectations, DraftKings saw strong user engagement. Monthly Unique Payers surged 28% to 4.3 million, aided by the Jackpocket acquisition. Excluding that, user growth was still a healthy 11%.
However, the company revised its 2025 revenue and EBITDA guidance downward, citing customer-favorable sports outcomes in March.
Still, Needham remains confident in DraftKings' long-term positioning, citing the company's sustained leadership and potential for legislative tailwinds in new markets.
Read Also: These Analysts Slash Their Forecasts On DraftKings After Q1 Results
How To Buy DKNG Stock
By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for DraftKings – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.
Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.
In the case of DraftKings, which is trading at $37.81 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 2.64 shares of stock.
If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.
According to data from Benzinga Pro, DKNG has a 52-week high of $53.61 and a 52-week low of $28.69.
