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

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $33.00 to $32.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.27% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on MTCH. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI downgraded Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Match Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.58.

Match Group Stock Performance

Match Group stock opened at $29.02 on Thursday. Match Group has a fifty-two week low of $26.39 and a fifty-two week high of $38.84. The company has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.95.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a negative return on equity of 574.22% and a net margin of 15.84%. On average, analysts forecast that Match Group will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Match Group

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Match Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Match Group in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in Match Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Match Group by 30,240.0% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,512 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Match Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,035 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Match Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $103,000. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.