Table of Contents
Mizuho raised its price target on PENN Entertainment to $25 from $23 on 14 July, keeping an Outperform rating after stronger state-reported gaming data pushed the bank’s earnings estimates higher. The stock trades at around $20.18, up 38% over the past six months.
The revision is tied to Mizuho’s updated second-quarter and full-year 2026 forecasts, which the analysts rebuilt using recent state revenue filings. Mizuho now expects property EBITDA of $504 million for the second quarter, up from its earlier $493 million estimate and above the Street consensus of $495 million.
Where the upgrade comes from
The higher target rests on segment-level gains rather than a single market. Mizuho lifted its Northeast property EBITDA estimate to $216 million from $211 million, ahead of the Street’s $213 million. The Midwest saw the largest move, with the bank now modelling $128 million against a prior $124 million and a Street figure of $122 million.
The West segment is projected at $58 million, up from $57 million and in line with consensus. The South is the exception: Mizuho held its estimate at $101 million, slightly below the Street’s $102 million.
PENN reports second-quarter results on 6 August, and the state-reported data that drove the revision gives analysts an unusually clear read on the quarter before the company confirms its own numbers.
A cluster of bullish calls
Mizuho is not alone. Truist Securities raised its target to $25 from $20 and kept a Buy rating after touring PENN’s new Hollywood Aurora and Hollywood Joliet properties in Illinois. Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $26 target, citing margins and an improving property portfolio. Citizens reiterated a Market Outperform rating and a $24 target following its own tour of the upgraded Illinois casinos.
The tight band of targets, from $24 to $26, points to a sell-side view that has converged on modest upside from current levels. PENN’s standing relative to its US peers is tracked in the ranking of iGaming operators in the Americas by market cap, where the company sits well below Flutter and DraftKings by valuation.
Retail upgrades and an online push
The renewed analyst interest follows heavy spending on PENN’s land-based estate, with the new Hollywood properties in Aurora and Joliet cited by more than one bank as evidence of improving returns. On the digital side, PENN has extended its Canadian footprint beyond Ontario, launching theScore Bet Sportsbook & Casino in Alberta alongside standalone theScore Casino and Hollywood Casino apps across iOS, Android and web.
The Alberta entry lands as the province opens its regulated online market to private operators. The scale of that opening is set out in coverage of the 28 operators registered for the July launch, a field that gives PENN a fresh regulated market to defend theScore’s brand recognition in.
Governance shift
Separately, PENN shareholders approved a proposal to declassify the company’s board of directors, the second time such a measure has passed since 2010. Declassification moves the board towards annual elections for all directors rather than staggered terms, a change governance investors generally read as improving accountability to shareholders.
The vote adds to a run of shareholder pressure across the listed gaming sector, where valuations and board structures are drawing closer scrutiny. PENN’s own market value against the wider field is set out in the ranking of the top 50 iGaming companies by market cap.
What happens next
The 6 August earnings report is the next test. Mizuho, Truist, Goldman and Citizens have all built their targets on state data and property tours rather than company guidance, so the quarter will show whether the sell-side read holds. With the stock up 38% over six months but still trading below every published target, the gap between price and expectation is where the next move will be decided.
Source: Mizuho
