Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Posted by Brian Himes on Oct 17th, 2026

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY – Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 5,009 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 37% compared to the average volume of 3,653 call options.

Insider Transactions at Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

In related news, CFO Cory Hatton bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.50 per share, with a total value of $26,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 104,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $679,087.50. This represents a 3.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nathaniel Lipman purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.78 per share, for a total transaction of $81,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,715 shares in the company, valued at $208,247.70. This represents a 64.12% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dave & Buster’s Entertainment

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PLAY. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment during the second quarter worth $25,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment by 1,547.2% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,464 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 4,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth about $141,000. 91.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment from $22.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.33.

Read Our Latest Research Report on PLAY

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLAY traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,120,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,033,531. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.31. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment has a one year low of $6.26 and a one year high of $22.10. The company has a market cap of $264.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 1.92.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 14th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.46). The business had revenue of $544.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.83 million. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment had a negative net margin of 4.26% and a negative return on equity of 51.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Dave & Buster’s Entertainment will post -1.58 EPS for the current year.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc is an entertainment and dining company that operates venues combining arcade games, interactive attractions, sports viewing and casual food and beverage service. Its venues are designed for group entertainment, including family outings, birthday celebrations, corporate events and other social gatherings.

The company operates under the Dave & Buster’s and Main Event brands. Dave & Buster’s locations generally feature a large arcade with games that award redeemable prizes, along with sports bars, restaurant service and event spaces.