Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PLAY)

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 5,009 call options on the company. This is an increase of 37% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,653 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLAY has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $22.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.33.

Insider Activity at Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

In other Dave & Buster’s Entertainment news, CFO Cory Hatton purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.50 per share, for a total transaction of $26,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 104,475 shares in the company, valued at $679,087.50. The trade was a 3.98% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Nathaniel Lipman purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.78 per share, with a total value of $81,360.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 30,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,247.70. The trade was a 64.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 1,547.2% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,464 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 4,193 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.45% of the company’s stock.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PLAY traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $7.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,106,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,757,458. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $8.24 and its 200 day moving average is $10.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.07, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.30. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a 52 week low of $6.26 and a 52 week high of $22.10. The stock has a market cap of $270.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.02 and a beta of 1.92.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 14th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.46). The business had revenue of $544.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.83 million. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 51.87% and a negative net margin of 4.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment will post -1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Company Profile

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc is an entertainment and dining company that operates venues combining arcade games, interactive attractions, sports viewing and casual food and beverage service. Its venues are designed for group entertainment, including family outings, birthday celebrations, corporate events and other social gatherings.

The company operates under the Dave & Buster’s and Main Event brands. Dave & Buster’s locations generally feature a large arcade with games that award redeemable prizes, along with sports bars, restaurant service and event spaces.