Dave & Buster's Entertainment ((PLAY Quick QuotePLAY - Free Report) ) became a Zacks #5 Rank Strong Sell in June after a big 28% earnings miss reported for their April quarter.

As of May 5, 2024, the operator of the “Eat, Drink, Play and Watch" sports bar and family restaurant concept owned and operated 224 stores in 43 states, Puerto Rico and one Canadian province.

My colleague Ethan Feller wrote about the reaction by Wall Street analysts to the company's outlook on June 24 when PLAY shares were still trading above $40...

With the recent challenges such as rising labor costs cutting into net margins, analysts have lowered their earnings estimates going forward, giving Dave and Buster’s Entertainment a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) rating.

In fact, analysts have unanimously lowered earnings forecasts across future timeframes. FY24 earnings estimates have declined by 19.5%, while FY25 earnings estimates have fallen by nearly 15%.

Since Ethan's report, this fiscal year's EPS consensus has dropped another 12% from $3.15 to $2.78, representing an annual decline in profits of 3.5%.

Next year's bottom line projection was also taken down 10% by a consensus of five analysts.

This is important context ahead of the company's next quarterly report this week on Tuesday after the market close -- especially since a good chunk of the recent downward earnings revisions occurred in just the last week.

When analysts are fine tuning their earnings models like that right before a company report, it's usually not a good sign.

The stock was an early darling of 2024, rallying from the low $50s up to $70. And now all the way back to $30, it could be set up for a short-covering rallying on any good news.

Bottom line: Wait and see what PLAY delivers on Tuesday before taking any positions, long or short. Another miss, or uncertainty about customer traffic and growth, could send shares even lower.