3G Capital Departs DraftKings, Tepper Exits Wynn

After-hours trading on Thursday saw a modest decline in DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) shares, possibly as a result of a regulatory filing that showed 3G Capital had sold its stake in the gaming company.

According to a recent Form 13F statement made by Jorge Paulo Lehman's hedge fund to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the money manager discontinued its investment in DraftKings sometime during the second quarter.  It had 70,000 shares of the Class A stock of the sportsbook operator at the start of that time.

The average price paid for the shares was $38.20, a price point the stock rarely saw in the April through June period. This suggests that 3G may have suffered a loss on the portion of DraftKings it sold in the second quarter, though 13F filings do not specify how much professional investors made or lost on trades.

Given that the money management started reducing its stake in the online sportsbook operator in the first quarter, it's possible that the writing was on the wall in relation to 3G and DraftKings.  Nevertheless, a lot of hedge funds and asset managers still possess gaming stock, with Scopia Capital, Contour Asset Management, and Whale Rock Capital Management investing the biggest portions of their portfolios in it.

 

Wynn Resorts Are Dropped by Tepper's Appaloosa

In the second quarter, another hedge fund sold out gaming stocks besides DraftKings.  Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN), a stock that David Tepper's Appaloosa Management has previously traded in and out of, was no longer held by the money manager.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR), another gambling company that Tepper's hedge fund has fluctuated in and out of over the years, was still owned by the fund as of June 30.  The NFL's Carolina Panthers are owned by the multibillionaire financier.

In other 13F news, Soros Fund Management, led by George Soros, seems to have sold its stake in Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), which it had started in the first quarter.  Soros Fund Management might have gained a fortune in Sands, depending on when the sale was carried out, as the stock surged during the second quarter.

As of June 30, Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR), Churchill Downs (NASDAQ: CHDN), and Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), a seemingly recent addition, were the family office's gambling investments.

 

Other 13F Chances and Outcomes

Since gaming stocks have long been favored by professional investors for both long-term and short-term goals, investors should anticipate a barrage of references to them as the 13F filing season gets underway.  Not every mention has resulted in a sale thus far.

DME Capital Management, owned by David Einhorn, raised its ownership of Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN), a regional operator of casinos.  Given that Keith Meister is a director of MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), it is not unexpected that his company, Corvex, kept its ownership stake in the corporation.