The investment bank slashes its price target by more than half, saying it has lost confidence in Flutter's ability to hit its own US profit targets.
Citi has downgraded Flutter Entertainment PLC (LSE:FLTR, NYSE:FLUT), the FTSE 100 gambling group that owns FanDuel in the United States, from "buy" to "sell" and cut its price target from £158 to £68, a reduction of more than half, citing growing doubts about the pace of growth in its crucial American business.
The shares fell 2% in afternoon trading to 8,008p.
The reversal reflects Citi's scepticism about Flutter's ability to hit its own profit targets in the US, where the company operates FanDuel, the leading online sports betting and casino brand. Flutter's management has guided for US adjusted operating profit of between $850 million and $1.25 billion for 2026, but Citi's own forecast of $763 million sits well below that range.
The broker also changed the way it values Flutter, abandoning an approach that relied on 2028 profit forecasts for the US business and instead basing its valuation on nearer-term 2027 numbers, which it says better reflects the uncertainty now surrounding the American growth story.
Flutter's FanDuel Predicts product, a newer offering the company has been developing, has been assigned almost no value in Citi's updated model, as it will still be at an early stage by 2027 and faces an unclear regulatory path.
The reduced US profit outlook also means Citi now expects Flutter to delay plans to return cash to shareholders through share buybacks, as the company will need to prioritise keeping its debt levels in check.
Citi has also removed Flutter from its European Focus List, a selection of the bank's highest-conviction stock recommendations, and placed the shares on a negative catalyst watch, signalling it expects further bad news in the near term.