DraftKings Shares Skyrocket Thanks To Bets On Table Tennis, Korean Baseball

Despite there being virtually no live sports to bet on, DraftKings went public on April 24 through a reverse merger, and the stock has skyrocketed since.

Last week, DraftKings posted a wider-than-expected loss of 18 cents per share on revenue of $113 million in the first quarter, which topped analyst expectations; the company says it doesn’t expect any long-term impact on its business from the coronavirus.

In the absence of professional baseball, hockey or basketball, sports bettors have turned to video games and esports. “It’s been a huge growth area over the last couple months for us,” CEO Jason Robins said last week.

DraftKings is benefiting from an uptick in demand for gambling on all kinds of events outside of U.S. sports including pop culture, news, reality TV shows and foreign sports like Russian table tennis and Korean baseball. A charity golf match with Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Phil Mickleson and Tom Brady has also drawn big bets.

DraftKings saw record numbers of engagement during the NFL Draft last month and has also seen strong interest in Ultimate Fighting Championship events, the company said. It’s expecting an increase in demand as events like NASCAR and German Bundesliga soccer make a return.

Wall Street analysts are quite bullish on the stock: Five of them give it a “buy” rating, while just one gives it a “hold” rating. Most firms assign DraftKings, which currently trades for just over $29 per share, a price target of between $30 and $35 per share.