Evercore Upgrades Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) to Outperform

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) was upgraded by investment analysts at Evercore from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $53.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. Evercore’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 23.40% from the company’s previous close.

MTCH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Match Group from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Match Group in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.85.

Match Group Price Performance

MTCH stock opened at $42.95 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.96. Match Group has a 1 year low of $28.81 and a 1 year high of $44.94.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. Match Group had a negative return on equity of 324.82% and a net margin of 20.17%. The business had revenue of $853.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $857.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Match Group will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ann Mcdaniel sold 3,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.43, for a total transaction of $149,820.33. Following the sale, the director owned 26,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,778.77. This trade represents a 11.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Glenn Schiffman bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.63 per share, for a total transaction of $109,890.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 56,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,064,833.10. This represents a 5.62% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,291 shares of company stock valued at $976,478. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Match Group by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,905 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter valued at $211,000. RHS Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter valued at $356,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in Match Group by 21.7% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 35,357 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after acquiring an additional 6,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Match Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 137,124 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,691,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Company Profile

Match Group, Inc is a global provider of online dating and social discovery services. The company operates a portfolio of dating applications and websites designed to help people form relationships, including Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, BLK, Chispa and The League.

Its platforms serve users across a broad range of geographies and relationship preferences. Match Group generates revenue primarily through paid subscriptions, premium features, à la carte purchases and advertising.