Posted on: September 9, 2024, 06:00h.
Last updated on: September 9, 2024, 06:02h.
Shares of Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) are down almost 20% over the past year, but CEO Jay Snowden is bullish on his employer’s stock.
A recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicates that on September 3, Snowden bought 54,200 shares of the regional casino operator’s equity at a weighted average price of $18.44 per share. That resulted in an overall purchase price of $1 million. The prices he paid ranged from $18.15 to $18.76, according to the regulatory document. Penn closed at $17.67 today, extending a slide that’s seen the stock shed 5.61% over the past month.
While it may be a mere coincidence, Snowden’s purchase of Penn shares arrived just days before the start of the 2024 NFL season – a period some analysts believe is make-or-break time for the operator’s ESPN Bet online sports wagering unit. ESPN Bet has been panned by some on Wall Street due to lagging market share and the business is expected to post steep losses in 2024.
It’s possible that Snowden’s purchase of his employers stock is a vote of confidence in ESPN Bet and Penn’s regional casinos, but the chief executive office did not comment to that effect. In many cases, corporate insiders buy their company’s stock because they believe it is undervalued and poised to appreciate.
Snowden Buying Penn Dip
Beleaguered Penn investors may well be hoping that Snowden’s recent purchase of the stock is an expression of confidence because the shares have shed nearly a third of their value year-to-date.
PENN has had a volatile few months, with pressure at the 200-day moving average as well as the $20 region,” according to Schaeffer’s Investment Research. “Despite the red ink in 2024, there’s not a single ‘sell’ rating among the 19 analysts covering the security. Should Penn stock continue to underperform, downgrades could add pressure to the equity.”
The stock has been a battleground this year. In May, investor Donerail Group encouraged the gaming company to abandon its online sports betting ambitions and consider selling itself. That stoked speculation of a transaction in which rival Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) would acquire Penn’s regional casinos and ESPN Bet would be sold to another buyer.
However, no such deal has materialized as of yet and Snowden made comments to analysts that indicate Penn isn’t actively shopping itself and that it wants to remain an independent company.
Snowden Buying While Other Gaming Execs Selling
Another reason Snowden’s purchase of Penn stock could be viewed as a positive is because it’s a departure from what’s been seen in the gaming space in 2024. For the most part in 2024, industry executives have been sellers, not buyers, of their companies’ shares.
Further underscoring the potentially positive message sent by Snowden’s stock purchase are a recent spate of insider sales at two of Penn’s direct competitors — Boyd Gaming and DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG).
With the Sept. 3 buys, Snowden now owns now owns a total of 853,045 shares of Penn.