Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Grindr (NYSE:GRND)

Key Points

• Grindr Inc. experienced a significant increase in put options trading, with 10,736 contracts purchased, marking a 424% rise compared to the average volume.
• Insider trading activity included Director Daniel Brooks Baer selling 2,435 shares for approximately $58,440, reducing his ownership stake by 8.98%.
• Analysts at Wall Street Zen upgraded Grindr from "buy" to "strong-buy," while several firms have increased their price targets for the stock, indicating positive market sentiment.

Grindr Inc. (NYSE:GRND - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 10,736 put options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately424% compared to the typical volume of 2,050 put options.

Insider Activity at Grindr

In other Grindr news, Director J Michael Gearon, Jr. sold 500,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.71, for a total transaction of $11,855,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,619,727 shares in the company, valued at $156,953,727.17. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director James Fu Bin Lu sold 852,567 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.93, for a total transaction of $20,401,928.31. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,588,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,271,587.31. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,641,251 shares of company stock valued at $110,831,024 in the last three months. 67.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grindr

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GRND. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Grindr during the 1st quarter valued at $197,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Grindr by 5.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 97,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,265 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Grindr by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 95,481 shares of the company's stock worth $1,703,000 after buying an additional 9,968 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grindr in the fourth quarter worth about $884,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Grindr by 45.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. 7.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Grindr Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GRND traded down $2.17 on Friday, hitting $15.72. The company had a trading volume of 6,528,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,081,463. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of -35.73 and a beta of 0.25. Grindr has a 52-week low of $11.01 and a 52-week high of $25.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $21.14 and a 200 day moving average of $20.06.

Grindr (NYSE:GRND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $104.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $104.40 million. Grindr had a positive return on equity of 132.07% and a negative net margin of 14.41%. The firm's revenue was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Grindr will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GRND. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Grindr from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Grindr from $26.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Grindr from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Grindr from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Grindr in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Grindr presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $23.40.

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.