DraftKings enters its Q1 2026 earnings report riding a 10% one-month rally to $25.22, but the most striking signal heading into the print is in the options market — where positioning has turned aggressively one-sided to the upside.
The put/call ratio has collapsed to 0.39, the lowest reading of the past year and more than two standard deviations below its 20-day average of 0.43. That is unusually heavy call demand relative to puts — a sign that options traders are positioned for a positive reaction rather than hedging against a miss. The contrast with broader sentiment is sharp: a year ago, the PCR touched 0.77, nearly double the current level. Into an earnings print, that degree of one-sidedness raises the bar.
Short interest adds some nuance. Bears have been quietly building. SI has climbed 10% over the past month to 8.4% of the free float — roughly 41.8 million shares — the highest level in the 30-day lookback window. That said, the borrow market is not distressed. Cost to borrow runs at just 0.43%, and share availability remains ample, suggesting the short build has been orderly rather than a frantic pile-in. Days to cover from the most recent FINRA settlement stands at 3.8. The ORTEX short score has ticked up to 50.6 from 45.5 two weeks ago — the middle of the range, not an extreme reading in either direction.
Analysts are broadly constructive but have been trimming targets. The most notable recent move came from MoffettNathanson, which downgraded to Neutral on April 24 and cut its target from $38 to $27 — the lone outright downgrade in the recent cycle. JPMorgan maintained Overweight but lowered its target from $32 to $31 on April 16, while Citi and Barclays made similar trims. Wells Fargo bucked the trend, edging its target up to $31. With 23 buy ratings, the Street remains firmly in the bull camp — but consensus targets have drifted toward and, in some cases, below the current price, leaving limited margin for disappointment. The bull case centers on DraftKings' dominant market position, technology advantage, and accelerating EPS trajectory — the 12-month forward EPS growth factor ranks in the 97th percentile of the universe. Bears point to slowing growth assumptions, regulatory complexity, and a competitive online gambling market that is still burning cash to acquire customers.
One institutional flow stands out. JP Morgan Asset Management disclosed a position of 11.4 million shares, a near-complete new build from essentially zero in the prior period. That conviction-sized entry from a major house sits in the background as the stock trades into today's print — which will test whether DraftKings' first-quarter handle figures and full-year revenue guidance can close the gap between where analysts have been cutting targets and where options traders seem to believe the stock is headed.
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