Three Insiders at Sports Betting Company Entain PLC Just Bought Stock

If multiple insiders at the same organization are buying company stock simultaneously, it’s often worth taking a closer look. This buying pattern – which is known as ‘cluster buying’ – is a particularly strong insider trading signal.

In this report, we are going to highlight a cluster buying pattern at Entain PLC (ENT:LN). Entain is an international sports betting and gaming company. Its brands include bwin, Coral, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Sportingbet, Foxy Bingo, and PartyCasino. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and currently has a market cap of £7.16 billion.

Cluster Buying Pattern

Our data shows that between June 14 and June 15, three insiders at Entain purchased stock. Those who bought shares were:

• Non-Executive Chairman Barry Gibson (3,301 shares @ £12.11 per share)

• CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen (20,481 shares @ £12.10 per share)

• Non-Executive Director Stella David (8,288 shares @ £12.07 per share) 

Together, these insiders bought a total of £387,847 worth of Entain stock. 

Top-tier Insiders

What stands out here is that two top-level insiders – the CEO and the Non-Executive Chairman – have purchased stock.

Both of these insiders are likely to have a good understanding of Entain’s prospects. Mr. Gibson has significant experience in the gaming industry, having previously served on the boards of William Hill PLC and bwin.party digital entertainment PLC. Meanwhile, Ms. Nygaard-Anderson has over two decades of leadership experience in the media, sports, and entertainment sectors.

STS Deal and Discounted Placing

Entain shares recently fell after the company announced that it plans to buy Polish sports betting operator STS Holdings for around £750 million. To generate funds for the deal, Entertain raised around £600 million via a placing of 48.3 million shares at a price of £12.30 each. This price represented a discount of 6.9% on the prior day’s closing price.

While investors weren’t overly enthused about the STS deal, Entain sees compelling strategic rationale. STS is the number one sports-betting operator in Poland and it has generated strong active user growth in recent years. Meanwhile, gaming is on the up in Poland, with the average gambling spend per adult increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% in the last three years.

Clearly, the insiders here believe that the recent share price fall has created an attractive investment opportunity. We see this insider activity as a bullish development.