Is MTCH the right pick for investors?
The shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) are up 3.5% to trade at $141.35 at last check. Though a reason for today's pop is not quite clear, it could be related to some broader market tailwinds in light of the first fully approved Covid-19 vaccine. The stock has had a volatile year so far, however, falling to its lowest level since March earlier this month, after running into overhead pressure at the $168 level in late July. Year-to-date, MTCH is off 6.7%, despite its 26.2% year-over-year lead.
The brokerage bunch has been bullish towards the security, with 12 of the 15 analysts in question carrying a "buy" or better rating, while the remaining three said "hold." Plus, the 12-month consensus target price of $173.22 is a substantial 22.7% premium to current levels.
Conversely, the options pits lean bearish. This is per Match Group stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.35, which stands higher than 94% of readings from the last year. In other words, these traders have rarely been more put biased.
The security's trailing 12-month revenues have grown just 11.5% compared to what was reported in 2020. This increase has signaled a relatively slow recovery rate, after MTCH experienced a 50% drop in revenues in 2020. Prior to that, MTCH's revenues had grown 44% between 2017 and 2019.
The equity has performed more consistently in recent years, growing its net income by 87% since 2017. However, MTCH's valuation remains extremely high, with the security trading at a price-earnings ratio of 78.47. What's more, it has a forward price-earnings ratio of 55.56, which is still a rich valuation. The equity's fundamentals also suggest it could continue its bearish movement in the short-term, though it is still a promising growth stock option for investors with an outlook of two years or longer.