By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN) rose almost 6% after a strong Barstool Sportsbook launch that prompted a slew of price target increases.
The Barstool app was introduced on Sept. 18 in Pennsylvania, and broke records for the most downloads ever for the launch of a new mobile sportsbook, Chief Executive Officer Jay Snowden said in a statement.
"This momentum has continued into our second week of operation, as this weekend’s handle grew by 14% over our initial weekend despite continuing to spend $0 in external marketing," he said.
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) raised its price target to $83 from $62, maintaining its overweight rating, while Craig-Hallum raised its price target to $90 from $75, maintaining a buy. The shares are currently trading around $72.46.
Craig-Hallum analyst Ryan Sigdahl said the Barstool launch "increases our confidence that PENN can be a leader in the rapidly expanding U.S. sports betting and iGaming market.
Rosenblatt raised its price target to $90 from $80. Analyst Bernie McTernan reiterated a buy and noted the launch, with growth in the second weekend, suggests a lower probability of the bear case playing out and a greater probability of the bull case occurring, according to StreetInsider.
The company also announced that it raised $982 million. Penn closed on its underwritten public offering of 16,100,000 shares of its common stock, $0.01 par value per share, which includes 14,000,000 shares of its common stock initially offered by the company and 2,100,000 shares of its common stock issued pursuant to the option granted the underwriters.
“This successful offering provides our company with additional resources to accelerate our unique omni-channel strategy, including launching the Barstool Sportsbook app in new markets, developing new products and features, establishing Barstool-branded sports bars and retail sportsbooks and reimagining the customer experience at our casinos, all while fortifying our balance sheet,” Snowden said.