Wells Fargo analyst Brian Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a new price target of $115.00 per share, down from $140.00.
Match stock price dipped recently after the company guided below the Street consensus. Investors are also more skeptical given the pending CEO transition. However, Fitzgerald said that new CEO Bernard Kim is a “strong addition” to Match.
“MTCH for the first time disclosed companywide MAU, pushing back on recent bear thesis (fueled by third-party app data of questionable accuracy) on declining user engagement. While we expect crosswinds to continue (likely for multiple quarters), we view fundamental opportunity as very much intact and valuation as compelling at current levels,” the analyst noted in a client note.
Net-net, Fitzgerald continues to see Match as a “best-in-class operator and manager of a strategically attractive portfolio of dating assets.”
By Senad Karaahmetovic