Citi Trims DraftKings’ Target to $29 Ahead of Q1: Is the Sports Betting Boom Losing Momentum?

2 months ago 24

David Moadel

Thu, April 16, 2026 astatine 9:22 AM CDT 4 min read

Citi chopped its terms people connected DraftKings (DKNG) to $29 from $32 portion maintaining a Buy rating, citing borderline volatility and determination marketplace softness arsenic headwinds up of Q1 earnings.
DraftKings’ maintained Buy standing reflects assurance successful its semipermanent maturation thesis contempt near-term uncertainty, with the banal trading astatine $23.55 good beneath the $29 target, suggesting the marketplace is pricing successful execution hazard beyond a azygous brushed quarter.
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DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) banal is heading into its May 7 net study with a caller terms people chopped from Citi. Analyst James Hardiman lowered his terms people connected DraftKings to $29 from $32, portion keeping a Buy standing connected the shares. The trim raises a just question: is the sports betting roar losing steam, oregon is this conscionable a velocity bump for 1 of the sector's ascendant players?

Citi framed its gaming outlook arsenic a "mixed bag," flagging "signs of life" for the Las Vegas Strip portion projecting lighter numbers for determination markets. For DraftKings, a pure-play integer operator, determination softness matters little than sportsbook borderline volatility and the outgo of expanding into caller merchandise lines. That discourse makes the people chopped consciousness measured alternatively than alarming.

Ticker

Company

Firm

Action

Old Rating

New Rating

Old Target

New Target

DKNG	DraftKings Inc.	Citi	Price Target Cut	Buy	Buy	$32	$29

Citi adjusted targets crossed the gaming abstraction arsenic portion of its Q1 preview, raising its terms people connected Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) shares to $90 from $86 and lifting its people connected Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) shares to $30 from $23, some astatine Neutral. Citi sees much near-term upside successful accepted casino operators portion maintaining a Buy connected DraftKings astatine a little target.

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The trimmed people apt reflects borderline uncertainty that has defined caller quarters. BTIG expert Clark Lampen besides chopped his DraftKings Q1 gross estimation to $1.606 cardinal from $1.659 billion, citing promotional costs from the Arkansas motorboat and little sportsbook handle. That signifier of estimation reductions heading into Q1 suggests Wall Street broadly expects a softer quarter.

DraftKings is the lone U.S.-based vertically integrated sports betting operator, moving mobile sportsbook, iGaming, regular fantasy, and its DraftKings Predictions level nether CFTC oversight. The institution is unrecorded with mobile sports betting successful 26 states and Washington D.C., covering 52% of the U.S. population, with iGaming progressive successful 5 states covering 11% of the population.

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