Bank of America Upgrades DraftKings to Buy and Keeps $27 Target; Shares Jump

Bank of America moved DraftKings to Buy from Neutral on Monday, October 5, ending a stretch on the sidelines. Analyst Julie Hoover tied the call to prediction markets, earnings estimates that the bank sees as bottoming, and 40%-plus upside to a $27 price objective. The target itself did not move: Investing.com, Proactive and MarketBeat all report the $27 figure was maintained, so this is a rating change rather than a higher valuation.

The stock reacted quickly. StockStory, citing StreetInsider, had DraftKings up 4.2% before the open, Investing.com reported a 5% gain after the upgrade, and MarketBeat flagged an intraday move of as much as 7.8%. Our own delayed quote showed the shares at $19.60, up 5.4% on the day. GuruFocus framed the upgrade as a risk-reward call after a 47% share decline, which is the backdrop for the bank arguing the setup into 2027 now looks favorable.

Bank of America joins firms that were already constructive: our analyst feed shows BTIG reiterating Buy on October 1 and Citigroup reiterating Market Outperform on September 28, so the change today is a Neutral holdout turning positive rather than a broad wave of new calls.

What to watch: whether prediction markets become a measurable revenue line, since that is the new element in the thesis, and whether the next earnings report confirms the estimate floor the bank is pointing to. A rally that rests on one rating change can fade if the numbers do not follow.