Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH) reported its fourth-quarter financial results on Tuesday, but after the report, analysts began to reconsider how they viewed Match. We have included some highlights from the earnings report, as well as a brief analyst montage.
The company had $0.24 in earnings per share (EPS) on $267.6 million in revenue, compared to consensus estimates of $0.19 in EPS on revenue of $272 million. In the same period of the previous year, the company posted EPS of $0.32 and $239.0 million in revenue.
For the fourth quarter, total revenue increased 12%, or 16% excluding the effects of foreign exchange, driven by a 14% increase in Dating revenue attributable to 30% higher average paid member count, which grew to over 4.6 million globally.
Dating revenue grew 14%, due primarily to 12% higher direct revenue, driven by increases in both North America and International, up 11% and 14%, respectively, in this past quarter.
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This quarter’s non-dating revenue declined 2% from last year, due primarily to a delay in demand for test prep as a result of the introduction of the new SAT test and a delay in an institutional tutoring contract.
After the earnings were reported a few analysts weighed in on Match:
- Barclays downgraded it to an Equal Weight rating from Overweight and lowered the price target to $14 from $17.
- Merrill Lynch has a Buy rating but lowered its price objective from $18 to $17.
- JPMorgan has a Neutral rating and lowered its target price to $14 from $16.
Shares of Match closed trading at $9.30 on Friday, with a consensus analyst price target of $15.15 and a previous 52-week trading range of $8.75 to $16.17.
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