Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Price Target Cut to $32.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $33.00 to $32.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.36% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. BTIG Research lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Match Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.58.

Match Group Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:MTCH traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $29.00. 929,830 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,037,910. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.07. Match Group has a 12 month low of $26.39 and a 12 month high of $38.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last released its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Match Group will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,533.40. This trade represents a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Match Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTCH. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Match Group by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 59,510 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 28,884 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Match Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $211,818,000 after buying an additional 939,078 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Match Group by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,390,194 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,733,000 after purchasing an additional 866,026 shares during the last quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. raised its holdings in Match Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 478,913 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,665,000 after purchasing an additional 8,414 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,667,907 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $87,267,000 after purchasing an additional 69,947 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.