Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 43,036 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 210% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,891 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MTCH. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Match Group in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Match Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Match Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.07.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTCH. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,275,015 shares of the technology company's stock worth $324,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,130,646 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Match Group by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,703,972 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $301,798,000 after buying an additional 377,745 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Match Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $276,406,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Match Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,037,684 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $158,176,000 after buying an additional 156,465 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Match Group by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,434,071 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $134,530,000 after buying an additional 427,635 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Match Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MTCH traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $31.29. 3,467,512 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,586,115. The company's 50 day moving average price is $34.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.47. Match Group has a 52 week low of $27.85 and a 52 week high of $49.24. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.43.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.32. Match Group had a negative return on equity of 313.95% and a net margin of 19.36%. The company had revenue of $866.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $861.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Match Group will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Company Profile

Match Group, Inc engages in the provision of dating products. Its portfolio of brands includes Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Pairs, Plenty Of Fish, Azar, BLK, and Hakuna, as well as a various other brands, each built to increase users' likelihood of connecting with others. Its services are available in over 40 languages to users worldwide.