Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Rating Lowered to “Inline” at Evercore ISI

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) was downgraded by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $35.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price suggests a potential upside of 3.55% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Match Group in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Match Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

Match Group Price Performance

MTCH stock opened at $33.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.99 and its 200-day moving average is $34.66. Match Group has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Match Group will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Match Group

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $391,900.78. This trade represents a 6.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Match Group in the 4th quarter valued at $670,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Match Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,834 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Match Group by 148.1% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 292,364 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,563,000 after purchasing an additional 174,530 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in shares of Match Group during the 4th quarter valued at $327,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in shares of Match Group by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 26,521 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $868,000 after buying an additional 8,901 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Match Group

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.