Grindr Inc. (NYSE:GRND) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 21.8% to 6,386,431 shares as of April 15, representing about 10.7% of shares and a short-interest ratio of 5.7 days.
• Major shareholder James Fu Bin Lu sold 475,000 shares (about $4.75M) in February, and insiders have sold ~2,065,766 shares in the last 90 days, though insiders still own 67.70% of the company.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target of $18.80, despite several firms trimming price targets (e.g., Goldman to $17).

Grindr Inc. (NYSE:GRND - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,386,431 shares, a decline of 21.8% from the March 31st total of 8,169,723 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,128,488 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Approximately 10.7% of the company's shares are sold short.

Grindr Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE GRND opened at $13.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.00. Grindr has a 1-year low of $9.73 and a 1-year high of $25.13. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $12.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07 and a beta of 0.21.

Insider Transactions at Grindr

In other Grindr news, major shareholder James Fu Bin Lu sold 475,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $4,754,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 18,432,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,505,331.01. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,065,766 shares of company stock worth $21,386,659. 67.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grindr

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grindr by 289.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 88,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,578,000 after buying an additional 65,485 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Grindr by 2.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,878 shares of the company's stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new position in Grindr during the second quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Grindr by 33.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 30,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $689,000 after acquiring an additional 7,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Grindr by 27.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 55,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 11,963 shares during the last quarter. 7.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GRND has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Grindr from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Grindr in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Grindr from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Grindr from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.80.

Grindr Company Profile

Grindr, trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol GRND, operates a global social networking and dating platform designed primarily for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (GBTQ) individuals. The company’s core offering is a location-based mobile application that enables users to connect, chat and share content with others in their vicinity. Through its free tier and premium subscription services—known as Grindr XTRA and Grindr Unlimited—Grindr provides enhanced features such as ad-free browsing, advanced filters and unlimited profile views, catering to a broad spectrum of user needs.

Originally launched in 2009 by entrepreneur Joel Simkhai, Grindr was one of the first mobile apps to leverage geolocation technology for social networking.

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