Grindr (NYSE:GRND) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Grindr Inc. (NYSE:GRND) gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $17.15, but opened at $15.80. Grindr shares last traded at $16.3580, with a volume of 327,446 shares traded.

The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $138.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.50 million. Grindr had a return on equity of 123.31% and a net margin of 19.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GRND has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Grindr in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Grindr from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Grindr from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Grindr from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $15.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Grindr in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Grindr presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Grindr news, insider Zachary Katz sold 12,979 shares of Grindr stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.89, for a total transaction of $232,194.31. Following the transaction, the insider owned 690,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,347,177.08. The trade was a 1.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,750 shares of company stock worth $763,270. Company insiders own 60.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Grindr

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Grindr by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,292,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,430,000 after purchasing an additional 9,952 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Grindr during the 4th quarter valued at $27,441,000. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Grindr during the 4th quarter valued at $20,565,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Grindr by 77.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,396,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,881,000 after acquiring an additional 610,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Grindr by 327.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,381,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,084 shares during the last quarter. 7.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grindr Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 442.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90 and a beta of 0.20.

Grindr Company Profile

Grindr, trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol GRND, operates a global social networking and dating platform designed primarily for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (GBTQ) individuals. The company’s core offering is a location-based mobile application that enables users to connect, chat and share content with others in their vicinity. Through its free tier and premium subscription services—known as Grindr XTRA and Grindr Unlimited—Grindr provides enhanced features such as ad-free browsing, advanced filters and unlimited profile views, catering to a broad spectrum of user needs.

Originally launched in 2009 by entrepreneur Joel Simkhai, Grindr was one of the first mobile apps to leverage geolocation technology for social networking.