Penn CEO Snowden Purchases $850K Worth of Company Stock

Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden remains confident in the company’s stock, despite its recent decline. To highlight his trust in the company, the executive expanded its stake in the operator, purchasing 54,200 more shares for approximately $1 million.

Snowden Now Owns Almost a Million Shares

The purchase was outlined in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on September 3. According to the filing, Snowden bought the shares at a weighted average price of $18.44 per share, with actual prices ranging from $18.15 to $18.76.

Penn Entertainment’s stock peaked in 2021 but has been on a steady decline since. While the decline slowed down in 2023, the company has been struggling to maintain a stable price. Over the past month alone, the share price decreased by almost 6% and is currently standing at $17.67.  

As a result of the transactions, Snowden now owns a total of 853,045 Penn Entertainment shares.

Snowden did not release a statement on his purchase, leaving trading experts to speculate on his strategy.

The CEO Might Want to Highlight His Confidence in the Company

Analysts proposed a number of reasons as to why CEO Snowden might be purchasing the dip. One speculation is that the executive expects Penn’s shares to skyrocket during the ongoing NFL seasons, underpinned by the performance of ESPN Bet. While the sportsbook is still struggling to gain traction, the new football season might just provide it with the extra push it needs.

Wall Street experts, unfortunately, remain skeptical of ESPN Bet’s success and predict serious losses for the company in FY 2024. Some have even speculated that Boyd Gaming or Flutter might acquire Penn’s land-based businesses, while another company acquires ESPN Bet.

Another possible explanation is that Snowden wants to highlight his confidence in Penn Entertainment, its casinos and the ESPN Bet brand. In any case, his actions aren’t unprecedented and mirror the actions of certain executives in similar situations.

While Snowden’s increased shareholding isn’t anything new, it certainly shows that the CEO is prepared to go against the grain. For context, most industry insiders in 2024 have preferred to sell stock, rather than buy it. Competitors companies such as DraftKings and Boyd Gaming, for example, have been more focused on selling. In this light, Snowden’s decision to buy might be a positive message to his company’s investors.