For investors it’s “time to swipe right” on dating-app company Match Group Inc., according to a JPMorgan analyst.
(Bloomberg) — For investors it’s “time to swipe right” on dating-app company Match Group Inc., according to a JPMorgan analyst.
Analyst Cory Carpenter expects overweight-rated Match’s Tinder app to return to double-digit growth in the third quarter and favors the Hinge-owner over competitor Bumble Inc. He assigned Match “top pick” status and increased his price target on the stock to $60 from $55, despite what he calls the worst investor sentiment since its 2015 trading debut.
“The pendulum has swung too far and investors are too pessimistic on both the online dating market opportunity and and durability of the Tinder turnaround,” he wrote in a note. Concerns about a glut of apps in the online dating industry are “overdone,” according to Carpenter, who forecasts global online dating spending to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 10% through 2026.
Shares rose 3.3% during the premarket session in New York before sliding 1% intraday.
Carpenter, who has previously touted his preference for peers like Bumble, changed his tone after Match’s second-quarter revenue beat Wall Street expectations last month, buoyed by growth at Tinder, its biggest dating property.
While Bumble has executed well in recent quarters, shares have fallen 28% year-to-date. He prefers Match, which has advanced more than 3% in 2023, as “Tinder is the most likely catalyst to improving dating sentiment.”
Seventeen other analysts rate Match a buy, while eight recommend holding and none say sell, according to Bloomberg compiled data. The average analyst 12-month target is $57.
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