By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) was trading up about 1% after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) resumed covering with a buy-equivalent rating.
Analyst Lauren Schenk set a price target of $180, matching a Street-high from BTIG, according to data compiled by Investing.com.
"We see pentup demand for social interaction driving accelerating '21 subscriber growth, with Tinder's monthly active users or MAUs recovering since a slower 4Q and singles posting their vaccine status on their dating profiles," Schenk wrote in a note, StreetInsider reported.
The analysts called 2021 guidance given by the company as conservative given it does not assume a full return to normalcy in the back half of the year, nor any pentup demand. Additionally, the low end of the range bakes in a potential headwind from the Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) app store fee change in the fourth quarter, which may not materialize.
"Over the long-term, we continue to view online dating, and MTCH specifically, as one of the most undermonetized user base stories in Internet, coupled with early innings of product adoption," Schenk said.
Shares are up about 80% over the past 12 months. Sales have steadily improved throughout the pandemic, and analysts tracked by Investing.com expect that trend to continue.