City analysts appear more optimistic on the future of Flutter Entertainment and Entain on public markets despite both profiles being impacted by huge stock declines in 2026 trading to date.
Recently relegated off the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) prestigious FTSE 100 to the FTSE 250 index, the underperforming stock of Entain is being circled by analysts at JP Morgan.
The world’s largest investment bank believes that Entain’s share price has witnessed an “unjustified 45% share price decline this year despite improving fundamentals”. JP Morgan views Entain as undervalued, and has reiterated its ‘overweight’ rating.
Entain to come up trumps?
A potential wipeout in Brazil would have contributed to JP Morgan cutting its target price from £10.50 to £9.65, as Entain maintains a podium presence in the market where the future of online gambling is in the political balance.
However, this target price would still represent an increase of over 120% on its current share price of around £4.31.
JP Morgan also clearly thinks that Entain could weather the storm should Machine Games Duty (MGD) rise in the UK Autumn Budget – an outcome that would once more impact its estates held by Ladbrokes and Coral.
MGD is rumoured to be high up the list on Chancellor John Healey’s fiscal agenda, potentially doubling duties to 40% to raise a target of above £300m.
Entain Chief Executive Officer Stella David did not specify exact shop closures for Ladbrokes and Coral, but stated that a doubling of MGD would see Entain forced to be part of a 1,500 sector-wide closures, as accounted by EY to Chancellor Healey.
Yet, putting Autumn Budget outcomes aside, JP Morgan is confident of a turnaround for Entain and its LSE share price.
The scale and presence of Entain brands combined with product and operating improvements see JP Morgan price a pick up in market share from challenger operators.
In a margin-squeezed market, Entain performed above expectations as UK and Ireland iGaming revenues increased by 13% despite tax liabilities doubling to £50m per interim.
Entain survives the first round of deep tax cuts against mid-and-small cap operators who are struggling to adapt to the already-active increase in Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) to 40%.
Further positives will see Entain benefit from a stronger balance sheet as corporate debt of £3.6bn is due to be reduced by the sale of Entain CEE to EMMA Capital at a valuation of £1.9bn.
The above factors are deemed as elements for a reversal of fortunes of Entain’s share price, which has failed to reach its peak price of £22 in September 2021, in light of a speculative offer from DraftKings to acquire BetMGM.
An uplift in Entain’s share price is viewed as a “lower target still left scope for significant upside from current levels”, with the broker seeing value in Entain as operational momentum improves and deleveraging becomes more visible.
Citi views cargo turnaround of Flutter
For Flutter, there are also signs of positivity, as Citi analyst Monique Pollard upgraded her rating on its stock from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’. Flutter is another gambling Plc which has seen its stock tumble in 2026 to the tune of 62%.
The owner of FanDuel, Paddy Power, Sky Bet and Betfair, among others, has not yet experienced a turnaround in fortunes since it delisted from the LSE to become exclusively listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the beginning of August.
But Pollard, among others, is optimistic of a recovery despite Flutter being another company heavily impacted by the pending outcome of Brazil Bets market, and more exposed than competitors due to its $1bn commitment to position Betnacional as a Brazil podium operator
Citi is not the only bank predicting that Flutter’s stock will rise. Kenneth Dart, a prominent gambling investor, has been steadily increasing his control over the company with a $14.16bn market cap, now holding an approximate 31.4% total economic interest in the business.
Leadership, as ever, is hopeful of a stock market turnaround, with outgoing CEO Peter Jackson claiming that the UK tax increases give Flutter “a really good opportunity to substantially increase market share”.
Chief Financial Officer Rob Coldrake was equally optimistic, pointing to markets where the group is experiencing success, such as Italy and Turkey led by the enlargement of the SISAL brand.
Yet Coldrake did point to Brazil as a market where the business can grow further – these plans will currently be on hold. Anxieties are high in the Flutter boardroom to avoid another market retrenchment in 2026.
Last year’s termination of the Junglee brand in India saw group accounts book direct impairments of $500m – a scenario Flutter investors wish not to be repeated in Brazil.
Flutter’s stock recently dropped to as low as $74 – its lowest point since early 2020 – as tax burdens, regulatory stipulations and the rise of prediction markets in the US create global headwinds for the business.
But its sheer size and stature seems to be a factor playing into analysts’ ratings, with a general consensus that the stock is a ‘buy’. Data gathered from 33 analysts shows an average target price of around $133 – a 63% uptick on its current share price of $81.58.
Regulatory risks will always play a major role in the future of a gambling PLC, but it is fair to say that analysts from some of the world’s biggest firms are of the opinion that these two stocks have taken far too big of a hit in recent times – and could well be in for a share price rebound.
In the rosier days of August 2025, Flutter’s shares reached an all-time high of $320, with the group viewed as an untouchable market leader. For investors such as Dart, the investment case need not depend on a return to that peak.
A sustained recovery above $100 could offer substantial upside for those buying into the gambling giant at a steep discount.
Article co-authored by Patrick Killeen and Ted Menmuir
