Grindr (NYSE:GRND) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Grindr has been downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, with several analysts adjusting their price targets, including JMP Securities lowering theirs from $27.00 to $23.00.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings missed expectations, reporting $0.08 per share against a consensus estimate of $0.10, while revenue was also slightly below estimates at $104 million.
• Insider transactions indicate significant selling activity, with high-profile insiders, including CFO Vandana Mehta-Krantz, reducing their stock holdings, which raises concerns about future performance.

Grindr (NYSE:GRND - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on GRND. JMP Securities decreased their price target on Grindr from $27.00 to $23.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Grindr from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Grindr from $26.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp began coverage on Grindr in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Grindr Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of GRND stock traded down $0.0670 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.7130. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,474,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,406,348. Grindr has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $25.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.71 and a beta of 0.25.

Grindr (NYSE:GRND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.02). Grindr had a positive return on equity of 84.93% and a negative net margin of 14.41%.The business had revenue of $104.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $104.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Grindr will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Grindr news, Director J Michael Gearon, Jr. sold 19,432 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $480,942.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,480,568 shares in the company, valued at $135,644,058. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Zachary Katz sold 14,693 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.25, for a total value of $282,840.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 595,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,455,906. The trade was a 2.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,468,095 shares of company stock worth $58,790,455. Corporate insiders own 67.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Grindr

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Grindr by 23.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,714,514 shares of the company's stock worth $30,690,000 after buying an additional 325,996 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Grindr by 93.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,259,449 shares of the company's stock worth $28,589,000 after buying an additional 608,554 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Grindr in the first quarter worth about $20,049,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Grindr by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,117,053 shares of the company's stock worth $19,928,000 after acquiring an additional 513,770 shares during the period. Finally, Bwcp LP boosted its stake in shares of Grindr by 61.8% in the first quarter. Bwcp LP now owns 1,096,586 shares of the company's stock worth $19,629,000 after acquiring an additional 418,994 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.22% of the company's stock.

Grindr Company Profile

Grindr Inc operates social network and dating application for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities worldwide. Its platform enables LGBTQ people to find and engage with each other, share content and experiences, and express themselves. The company offers ad-supported service and a premium subscription version.