Stocks Tracker: Norway through for Kindred as September slams share prices

Kindred Group 1 September closing: SEK86.64 30 September closing: SEK83.78 Peak September closing: SEK96.96  It was a month of two halves for Kindred Group as the initial clamour around the Stockholm-listed firm’s eye-widening financial targets was quickly dashed by its continued regulatory woes in Norway, with its share price being taken for the rollercoaster journey in September. As part of the group’s Capital Markets Day in London, Kindred revealed its £1.6bn revenue target for 2025, which it is riding on growing presence in regulated markets including its return to the Netherlands and the development of its in-house sportsbook technology. Henrik Tjärnström, Kindred Group CEO, confirmed the operator was on track to secure a 15% market share in the Netherlands by the end of 2022, and that the KSP would launch by the end of 2023. Following the Capital Markets Day disclosure, Kindred’s share price continued to rise on its upward curve. The firm’s stock closed out at SEK95.86 on Wednesday 14 September and continued to rise on the good fortune of the positive prediction, topping at a monthly high of SEK96.96 on Friday 16 September. But all too often the stock market first giveth, then it taketh away, as Kindred found out to its misfortune as the ongoing legal battle regarding its operations in Norway rose to the surface on Wednesday 19 September. The Norwegian Gambling Authority (NGA) slapped Kindred subsidiary Trannel with a daily fine of €116,676 for continuing to offer its services without a licence in the country. Kindred said it fundamentally disagreed with the decision and would continue to pursue an appeal through the courts. However, the market was somewhat spooked, as Kindred’s stock fell dramatically from a previous close of SEK94.48 to SEK87.68 following the NGA’s announcement. Things went from bad to worse as the operator’s stock continued to take a battering, falling to a monthly low of SEK83.08.

Entain 1 September closing: 1,175.50p 30 September closing: 1,086p Peak September closing: 1,257.50p Similarly to Kindred Group, Entain could split its share price movements between the first and second half of September as positive news in the early part of the month drove its stock to a monthly high. The London-listed firm was awarded its fourth licence in Ontario by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) to bring its Sports Interaction brand live in the market. The operator now operates Sports Interaction, bwin, Party and BetMGM brands in the province. Entain acquired Avid Gaming, the owner of Sports Interaction, earlier this year as part of the firm’s global M&A expansion plans. This resulted in a slight uptick of the group’s share price to 1,218.50p before bullish comments from CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen seemingly piqued the market’s attention the following week. Nygaard-Andersen said Entain had the opportunity to “change the direction of the sector itself” as she eyes a greater symbiosis of gambling, media and entertainment. The CEO added that Entain was at the “forefront” of change in the industry as she looks to add new product output to the operator, including NFTs, VR and esports. Nygaard-Andersen’s comments saw Entain’s stock rise to a monthly high of 1,257.50p but was not enough to maintain this level of support. Entain’s share price quickly fell, and by Thursday 22 September it had reached a monthly low of 1,083p. The firm’s stock did rise slightly from this bottoming out, before closing the month out at 1,086p. Playtech 1 September closing: 434.20p 30 September closing: 441.60p Peak September closing: 474p  Playtech’s September was the perfect imagination of the calm before the storm as the London-listed firm’s H1 earnings announcement sent its share price tumbling towards the end of the month after a steady beginning. No news can be good news, and Playtech’s share price performed steadily, if not stunningly, during the first couple of weeks for the month. A sharp rise to 472.60p on Monday 12 September followed by a subsequent monthly peak of 474p on Tuesday 20 September was as good as it got the industry giant. Playtech’s share price has been battered in recent months following the fallout from the series of failed takeover bids for the business, but it was the H1 results that dealt a hammer blow to its stock. Interestingly, the firm’s H1 report was largely positive. Revenue leapt 73% to €792.3m, while EBITDA climbed 64% to reach €203.8m and post-tax profit grew 73% to €94.3m. However, a 22% dip in Asia-derived revenue, along with the collapse of the deal with Caliente to allow Caliplay to enter the US market, with Caliplay being acquired by a US-listed SPAC, meant it wasn’t all plain sailing. Playtech’s stock slumped from its monthly peak of 474p on Tuesday 20 September to 390.80p on Thursday 22 September. The drastic loss was abated by the firm in the backend of the month as its share price recovered to 441.60p. Rivalry 1 September closing: C$1.50 30 September closing: C$1.09 Peak September closing: C$1.53 Despite the world of esports betting taking a hammering in recent weeks, with several firms pulling the plug on operations with the furore of the last two years beginning to run flat, Toronto-listed Rivalry was one of the few firms that were looking likely to buck the trend. A solid start to the month’s trading, buoyed by the late August Q2 results announcement that saw the operator post a H1 revenue of C$10.2m and gross profit of C$2.7m, suffered a slight dip early on in September but was able to recover later in the month. CEO Steven Salz reiterated his commitment to spending to drive future success at the brand, despite posting a net loss of C$12.8m in the first six months of the year. Salz’s bullish comments saw Rivalry’s share price rise slightly to C$1.52 before dipping towards the second week of the month. On Tuesday 13 September, Rivalry announced the launch of its new online casino arm as the operator continued to action its product diversification roadmap. The launch saw the firm’s share price leap from C$1.31 to C$1.51 before rising again to a monthly high of C$1.53. However, the joy was short lived for Salz and Rivalry as the second half of September saw the company’s stock plummet. A steep downward spiral led Rivalry’s share price to bottom out at C$0.88 for the month, before recovering slightly to close out at C$1.09.