By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN) jumped 14% to a record thanks to its web-based plays.
The Barstool Sports blog saw the highest number of podcast downloads ever in June. That made Barstool, which Penn National acquired earlier this year, one of the top four largest podcast networks in the country, despite the lack of live sports. It's also driving interest for the Barstool Sportsbook, expected in September.
Penn National also cited its online casino product in Pennsylvania as growing rapidly: "We believe the company is poised to capture an outsized share of the high growth U.S. sports betting and online casino markets and achieve market-leading profitability."
In the current quarter, Penn National will launch its mychoice social casino product, an interactive gaming experience and customer acquisition tool in states where iCasino does not yet exist.
“While May and June results may have benefited in part from pent-up demand, we continue to be highly encouraged by revenue and EBITDAR trends in July and early August, despite the continuation of safety protocols, including capacity restrictions and social distancing mandates,” said Chief Executive Officer Jay Snowden.
Penn National reported a loss per share of $1.69 versus the expected loss of $2.11 on sales of $305 million, compared to the average forecast of $240 million. In mid-afternoon trading, the stock had given back some of its earlier gains but was still up 10.6% at $42.48.