Fertitta Boosts Wynn Stake as Stock Struggles Amid Tariff Turmoil

Posted on: April 9, 2025, 02:09h. 

Last updated on: April 9, 2025, 02:59h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.
  • Fertitta recently added to Wynn position, taking stake to about 13%.
  • Buys came ahead of Wednesday rally.

In what now appears to be a series of series of exceptionally well-timed purchases, Tilman Fertitta added to his stake in Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN), taking his position in the casino operator to approximately 13%.

Fertitta Wynn
Tilman Fertitta at a 2019 news conference. He bought more Wynn stock this month. (Image: ESPN)

A new Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicates the soon-to-be-former head of Fertitta Entertainment scooped up 300K shares of Wynn on Friday, April 4, and another 100K shares on Monday. Those transactions follow a series of March buys in which the Houston Rockets owner bought 1.68 million Wynn shares, taking his percentage of the operator’s shares outstanding to 11.8% while cementing his status as the company’s biggest individual investor.

The March purchases were part of a previously reached agreement between Fertitta and Wynn under which the billionaire businessman had until May 13 to buy another 1.68 million shares. He now owns north of 13 million shares of the Las Vegas-based casino operator. That’s a significant increase from the 6.91 million shares or 6.1% of the operator’s shares outstanding, Fertitta acquired two years ago.

Tilman’s Timing Impressive

As is the case with other gaming equities, particularly shares of land-based operators, Wynn has been pummeled amid tariff uncertainty. With trade tensions between the US and China — the world’s two largest economies — at a fevered pitch, Macau casino stocks, including Wynn, have been among the most vulnerable.

Shares of Wynn are off 14.66% over the past month and reside 30.83% below the stock’s 52-week, indicating it may have taken some temerity on Fertitta’s part to add to his investment in recent days, but he was rewarded for doing so. The average price at which his purchases occurred last Friday and on Monday occurred was $69.43.

At this writing, the gaming stock is flirting with $75 after President Trump announced there will be a 90-day pause on tariffs against countries that did not retaliate against the US move. China is not part of that group. In fact, that country is promising significant trade levies of its own against the US and is dumping Treasurys as a sign of its displeasure toward Trump’s trade policy.

Still, with the benefit of a Wednesday rally that’s permeating the broader gaming complex, Wynn is up about 8% from Fertitta’s average purchase price on his most recent transactions.

Fertitta’s Wynn Stake Has Rapidly Grown

An October 2022 Schedule 13G filing with the SEC indicated Fertitta Entertainment, Fertitta himself, and another entity earlier this month purchased 6.91 million shares of Wynn, equivalent to 6.1% of the casino operator’s shares outstanding. That means in less than three years, his position in the gaming company has more than doubled.

His April 2025 additions to that investment weren’t the first time he bought the stock following a slump. When Fertitta initiated his position in the gaming company, the stock was down more than 30% on a year-to-date basis.

Given his history of turning from passive to activist investor, there’s been ample talk about Fertitta potentially moving to acquire Wynn outright — a notion largely refuted by Wall Street and one that appears all the more unlikely as he awaits confirmation to become US ambassador to Italy.