The company reported a top- and bottom-line beat
The shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) are up 7.1% at $39.90 this morning, following the company's first-quarter earnings report. PLAY posted profits of $1.35 per share on $451.1 million in revenue, topping analysts' estimates. The restaurant and entertainment concern also shared a 10.9% increase in same-store sales since 2019, noting that business has continued to strengthen into the second quarter.
While PLAY has had a choppy couple of months, losing 85% since the beginning of the year, the $34 level has worked as something of a floor on the chart. The region has been the home of several bounces this year, though the equity's most recent lost steam at the 20-day moving average. However, today's jump has PLAY set to open well above the trendline.
Analysts have yet to chime in, though sentiment is mostly bullish. Of the seven in coverage, five consider PLAY a "strong buy," with just two "hold" ratings. On the other hand, short interest has been on the rise, up 10% in the last two reporting periods, and represents 12.3% of the stock's available float.
Dave & Buster's options traders have also taken a pessimistic stance. The security's Schaeffer's put/call volume ratio (SOIR) of 1.93 sits higher than all but 3% of readings from the past year. This means short-term options traders have rarely been more put-biased.