Published on: November 14, 2024, 07:40h.
Last updated on: November 14, 2024, 07:45h.
Despite a 19.52% year-to-date decline in the stock, Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) was added to by David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital during the third quarter.
According to a new 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Einhorn’s hedge fund held approximately 5.6 million shares of the regional casino operator at the end of the third quarter. The stake would be valued at over $117 million based on Penn’s current closing price, assuming Greenlight has not adjusted its position in the stock since the beginning of the current quarter.
This is below the average price of $22.69 that Greenlight paid when establishing its Penn position in the first quarter. At that time, Einhorn believed that markets were undervaluing Penn’s ESPN Bet unit, suggesting that if the online sports betting business could capture a fraction of the value of competitor DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), it could add as much as $20 per share to Penn stock.
Currently, Penn is the only direct gaming investment for Greenlight, although the fund has a stake in Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IAC), which is the largest non-institutional shareholder in MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM).
Tiger Global Takes Big Flutter Position
FanDuel Parent, Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), was also added to the portfolios of professional market participants during the third quarter.
During this period, Chase Coleman III’s Tiger Global Management, with approximately $46 billion in assets, initiated a new position in the Dublin-based gaming company, purchasing 3.38 shares. Coleman is one of the “Tiger Cubs,” followers of the late Julian Robertson.
Robertson, along with George Soros, are considered pioneers of macro hedge funds. Speaking of Soros, his investment firm Soros Capital Management reported a stake of 94,496 shares in Flutter at the end of the third quarter, a significant increase from the 5,020 shares it held at the end of June.
Soros has a long history of involvement in gaming equities, although most of his investments in the sector have been short-term rather than long-term.
Flutter Gaining More Appeal with Pros
Soros Capital Management and Tiger Global Management are just two examples that illustrate the increasing interest in Flutter since listing its shares in New York and later moving its primary listing from London to New York.
These strategic moves, made earlier this year, were meant to enhance the stock’s liquidity and attract a wider range of investors, including both professional and retail traders.
With several 13F filing seasons passed since Flutter’s listing in New York, it is evident that the initiative has successfully attracted more institutional investors to the company.