Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Cut 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 research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $35.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 4.23% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BTIG Research cut shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.72.

Match Group Stock Performance

Match Group stock opened at $33.58 on Thursday. Match Group has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $38.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.67. The company has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a net margin of 17.86% and a negative return on equity of 721.15%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Match Group will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of Match Group 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $391,900.78. The trade was a 6.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Match Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,672,611 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $668,732,000 after purchasing an additional 391,977 shares during the period. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Match Group during the third quarter worth about $361,605,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Match Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $211,818,000 after purchasing an additional 939,078 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Match Group by 10.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,540,916 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $209,668,000 after purchasing an additional 524,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Match Group by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,486,837 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $81,344,000 after purchasing an additional 683,132 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.