Rothschild & Co has downgraded Flutter Entertainment, warning that the turnaround of its FanDuel unit is likely to take longer than expected, and advising investors to approach the stock with caution for now.
In a note to clients, the investment firm downgraded the online gambling stock to neutral from buy and lowered its price target to $119 from $169, representing a 33% upside from Friday’s close. Analyst Andrew Tam acknowledged that the firm had been overly optimistic about Flutter in 2026, stating that the year remains a transitional period.
“While we applaud management for its longer-term focus, 2026 is another transitional year,” Tam wrote. “In the meantime, the revamped management team needs to demonstrate it can deliver against near-term promises before gun-shy investors will be willing to pay up for longer-term ones. We expect FanDuel’s turnaround to take longer than expected.”
The downgrade follows a series of consecutive guidance cuts, marking the fourth consecutive reduction. Flutter recently lowered its midpoint estimate for FanDuel’s 2026 EBITDA by 22%, as the company continues to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to capture a larger share of the online gaming and event contract markets.
“Investors now need to look to 2027E and beyond for better times (and growth),” Tam noted. “However, recent successive downgrades have, in our view, tested investor patience and leave them gun-shy.”
Despite the cautious outlook, LSEG data shows that of the 32 analysts covering Flutter, 23 still maintain a buy or strong buy rating on the stock. Nevertheless, shares have plunged 58% in 2026.
