Stocks Tracker: Rank Group shares surge but miserable May for PENN

Rank Group 

1 May closing: 84p 

30 May closing: 126p 

Peak May closing: 127p 

May proved to be a stellar month for UK-based casino and bingo operator Rank, with the company’s stock climbing 51% in value over the course of the reporting period. 

Buoyed by news that the UK government will allow more gaming machines in bricks-and-mortar casino locations in July as part of its land-based reforms, Rank shares remained on a largely upward trajectory for the entirety of May. 

Having reached the 100p mark on 11 May, the Mecca Bingo parent company did not look back from that point on, going from strength to strength to reach its monthly peak of 127p on two separate occasions, before closing out the month at 126p, marking the group’s most impressive performance within the last 12 months. 

Playtech 

1 May closing: 774p 

30 May closing: 318p 

Peak May closing: 806p 

Playtech’s month was in stark contrast to that of Rank Group. A strong start – its 6 May closing of 806p the highest the firm’s stock has been valued so far this year – was quickly followed by a drastic decline in the days that followed. 

It was a hectic month for the company, which is currently in the midst of a strategic shift to focus solely on its B2B operations, with the reporting period including a trading update and an asset sale, with its HAPPYBET brand offloaded to German operator pferdewetten.de. 

However, the steep decline in its stock began on 8 May, with its share price plummeting as a result of a £1.5bn payout following the sale of its Italian-based Snaitech brand to Flutter last year. 

The special dividend was the equivalent of nearly two-thirds of Playtech’s market capitalisation, as reported by City AM.  

With Snaitech now under Flutter ownership and Playtech exclusively committed to its B2B efforts, the firm’s trading update, released on 21 May, failed to inspire any sort of significant uptick in its stock value, despite management praising “very strong revenue growth” across US operations in what was described as a “solid” start to 2025. 

Confirmation of the HAPPYBET sale for an undisclosed fee came one week later, but shares remained flat, ending the month valued at 318p – a 58% decline from the month’s open. 

PENN Entertainment 

1 May closing: $15.54 

30 May closing: $14.83 

Peak May closing: $16.18 

PENN’s May was dominated by the ongoing bitter battle with activist investor HG Vora, which released a scathing assessment of the operator’s leadership and strategy midway through the month. 

Compensation received by CEO Jay Snowden was dubbed “tone deaf” by one of PENN’s largest shareholders, which boasts a 4.8% chunk of the company’s outstanding shares, while its sports betting and M&A strategy was also called into question just days after HG Vora filed a lawsuit against PENN and its board of directors. 

The case centres around PENN’s decision to opt against electing the investor’s third prospective candidate to the board, who was denied the chance to stand for election. 

The ESPN Bet parent company responded by informing its shareholders that HG Vora’s demands were “value-destructive” and in violation of state gaming regulations. 

Throughout this, PENN’s share price fluctuated marginally but evaded a dramatic decline, that is until HG Vora’s 116-page presentation claimed the current board had failed shareholders, and that improvement was needed to inspire an uptick in stock value. 

In the week of the presentation’s release, PENN’s share price slumped below the $15-mark for the first time last month, reaching May’s lowest total of $14.20 on 20 May. 

An uptick swifty followed, with a climb to $15.38 a week later, but another decline came hot on its heels to see PENN close out the month with its share price sitting at $14.83, representing a 2.5% fall over the course of what was a turbulent reporting period. 

International Game Technology (IGT)

1 May closing: $16.42 

30 May closing: $14.71 

Peak May closing: $17.89 

May proved to be a month of mixed fortune for the supplier, with an underwhelming Q1 results release offsetting any positive momentum that could have been garnered by the announcement it had secured the Italian lottery licence until 2034. 

In the immediate aftermath of IGT’s Q1 earnings being published, shares fell by nearly 10%, with the market responding accordingly to a 12% year-on-year (YoY) decline in revenue, which sat at $583m. 

Five days on, IGT announced that its consortium bid for the Italian lottery licence had been successful, with the company spearheading the LottoItalia operation that also includes Allwyn, Arianna 2001 and Novomatic Italia. 

Confirmation of the news nevertheless failed to arrest the decline in IGT’s share value, while an optimistic assessment from CEO Vince Sadusky, in which he talked up the potential cross-sell opportunities that could come after securing the licence, also failed to have the desired effect. 

One day on from Sadusky’s comments, IGT’s stock slumped to $14.99 and, though a marginal rally soon followed, May ended with the company’s share price at $14.71, its lowest value within the reporting period. 

Banijay Group 

2 May closing: €9 

30 May closing: €10.60 

Peak May closing: €10.70 

A strong sports betting performance from the Betclic parent company inspired a strong second-half of the month, while the company posted group-wide revenue totals of €1.1bn for Q1 2025. 

Of that topline figure, Banijay’s online betting and gaming division amounted to €380.9m, climbing 18.2% YoY, while sportsbook revenue rose by 19.5% to €295.8m, alongside a 9.2% YoY increase in casino revenue coming in at €55.9m. 

Poker revenue was up 25% to €23.6m, largely due to it being the first full quarter since the launch of Betclic’s in-house poker platform at the end of last year. 

Banijay Gaming CEO Nicolas Béraud noted on 31 May that the company is looking to expand into new regions after securing podium positions in its four core markets. 

“Over the past 20 years, Betclic has reinvented itself time and again and accelerated at the key moments,” Béraund explained. “We are now fully equipped to take on what’s next with bold ambition and strong foundation.” 

The rally cry appeared to prompt a response from investors, with Banijay shares reaching its May peak on the same day, while June has begun in similarly strong fashion, with the stock currently trading at €10.90 per share, surpassing May’s highest total.