Rising costs have taken a bite out of the bull case for DraftKings , according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Daniel Politzer downgraded DraftKings to equal weight from overweight, saying in a note to clients Tuesday that the sports gaming company would have a hard time rebounding from Friday's sell-off. "We remain bullish on US digital gaming, but prefer CZR and FLTR here; our downgrade is company specific and reflects our growing concern on DKNG's path to profitability given its fast-growing operating expenses (as opposed to external marketing/promotional spend, which have been a concern among investors)," Politzer wrote. Shares of DraftKings fell more than 21% on Friday after the company projected higher than expected adjusted EBITDA loss for 2022. EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, is a common way to measure if growth companies are making progress toward full profitability. Wells Fargo said it does not expect DraftKings to be EBITDA-positive for a full year until 2025. For DraftKings, a jump in operating expenses is making near-term profitability harder to see, Wells Fargo said. "DKNG's implied 2022 [operational expense] will increase 60%+ y/y vs. its expected ~49% revenue growth," the note said. Wells Fargo cut its price target on DraftKings to $19 per share from $41. The new target is less than 10% above where the stock closed Friday. -CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
Omar Marques | LightRocket | Getty Images
Rising costs have taken a bite out of the bull case for DraftKings, according to Wells Fargo.