Wall Street Zen Upgrades Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Bumble from hold to buy, even though the broader analyst view remains cautious with a consensus rating of Reduce and an average target price of $4.40.
• Bumble reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.34 EPS versus $0.25 expected, while revenue of $212.38 million slightly beat estimates but still fell 14.1% year over year.
• The stock has been under pressure, trading around $3.62 with a market cap of about $470 million, while insiders recently sold large blocks of shares and institutional investors continue to hold the vast majority of the company.

Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on BMBL. UBS Group raised their target price on Bumble from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Bumble from $5.50 to $5.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Bumble from $3.50 to $3.30 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Bumble in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Bumble from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $4.40.

Bumble Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BMBL opened at $3.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.72. Bumble has a 1-year low of $2.61 and a 1-year high of $8.64. The company has a market cap of $469.93 million, a PE ratio of -0.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.99.

Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Bumble had a positive return on equity of 31.11% and a negative net margin of 72.04%.The firm had revenue of $212.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.59 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bumble will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bumble

In other news, major shareholder Buzz Holdings L.P. Bcp sold 7,477,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,832 shares in the company, valued at $90,670.32. This trade represents a 99.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,670.32. This represents a 99.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,910,016 shares of company stock worth $104,984,156. Corporate insiders own 15.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bumble by 52.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,164,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,989,000 after buying an additional 3,820,205 shares in the last quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Bumble by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,337,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,055,000 after buying an additional 1,838,923 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Bumble by 10.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,882,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,735,000 after buying an additional 466,646 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Bumble by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,835,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,122,000 after buying an additional 251,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Bumble by 36.2% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,528,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,396,000 after buying an additional 671,907 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company's stock.

Bumble Company Profile

Bumble Inc operates a technology platform designed to facilitate social and professional connections through its suite of apps, most notably the flagship Bumble dating app. The company's core premise is to empower users—particularly women—to make the first move, helping to reshape traditional dating dynamics. In addition to its dating function, Bumble offers mode-switching features that allow users to find friends through “Bumble BFF” or pursue professional networking opportunities via “Bumble Bizz.”

Beyond the Bumble app, the company also owns and operates Badoo, a social discovery platform with a substantial global footprint, particularly in Europe and Latin America.

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