Berenberg ups Flutter Entertainment to 'buy' after share price weakness

Berenberg upgraded Flutter Entertainment to ‘buy’ from 'hold’ on Friday, saying the pullback in the shares following recent results offers an attractive entry point, with around 18% upside to the current share price.

"Flutter has always ticked all our key boxes: geographic diversification, scale and a strong presence in the lucrative US market," it said.

"This has historically been tempered by valuation premium and concerns over an ongoing litigation case in Kentucky which has now been resolved.

"While our price target falls to 15,000p from 15,800p as a result of changes in the Netherlands which will unwind in the back half of 2022 and the implementation of proactive responsible gambling policies in the UK in advance of regulatory changes, we believe the weakness in the shares following the Q3 results is unjustified and overdone."

Berenberg said operational momentum remains strong. It continues to expect Flutter to shake out as the market leader in the lucrative US market.

"We leave our US assumptions unchanged and maintain our expectation that Flutter will take a 25.6% market share in the US," it said.

In Australia, it expects the group’s Sportsbet brand to be a market share gainer, while in the UK market, active monthly player growth has remained robust in FY21 despite the tough comparable period, it said.