Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Stock Price

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Barclays from $53.00 to $52.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 53.85% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MTCH. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Match Group from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.68.

Match Group Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of MTCH stock opened at $33.80 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $32.99 and a 200-day moving average of $34.66. Match Group has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $38.84. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.45.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a negative return on equity of 721.15% and a net margin of 17.86%. On average, equities analysts expect that Match Group will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Match Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total value of $25,319.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,398 shares in the company, valued at $391,900.78. The trade was a 6.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Match Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTCH. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Match Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $731,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Match Group by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 63,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,388,000 after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Match Group by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,535 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after buying an additional 1,909 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Match Group by 114.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 2,877 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Match Group by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,006 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Company Profile

Match Group, Inc engages in the provision of dating products. Its portfolio of brands includes Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Pairs, Plenty Of Fish, Azar, BLK, and Hakuna, as well as a various other brands, each built to increase users' likelihood of connecting with others. Its services are available in over 40 languages to users worldwide.