By Sam Boughedda
Shares of Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) were downgraded from Buy to Hold with the price target lowered from $70 to $60 by a Loop Capital analyst on Wednesday.
In a note to clients, she said Q2 missed from a revenue and earnings perspective, and they see the potential for further misses into 2023.
"Our 2022 EPS estimate of $1.58 compares to consensus of $1.70. Tinder remains a wildcard given recent market share losses to Bumble and cannibalization by the company's Hinge banner," the analyst wrote.
About six weeks ago, Match announced the departure of Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg after less than a year in the role and started its search for her successor.
The Loop Capital analyst believes Bernard Kim, who has now been in his Match Group CEO seat for about three months, has his hands full. "MTCH's CEO Bernard Kim is impressive in person, but this level of management turnover will potentially create a speed bump to growth," the analyst added.
"We see BK attracting exciting talent to the company from outside the online dating industry, but it will likely take time for new hires to understand the dating business."
Match Group shares are down more than 2% at the time of writing.