Wall Street Zen Downgrades Grindr (NYSE:GRND) to Hold

Grindr (NYSE:GRND) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Grindr in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Grindr from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $15.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Grindr in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Grindr from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Grindr currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.20.

Grindr Price Performance

NYSE GRND opened at $17.34 on Friday. Grindr has a fifty-two week low of $9.73 and a fifty-two week high of $18.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.11 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 442.30, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Grindr (NYSE:GRND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $129.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.42 million. Grindr had a return on equity of 123.31% and a net margin of 19.85%. On average, analysts anticipate that Grindr will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Grindr

In other news, insider Zachary Katz sold 12,800 shares of Grindr stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.28, for a total value of $208,384.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 713,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,612,898.44. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 35,771 shares of company stock valued at $531,075 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 60.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Grindr

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRND. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Grindr by 289.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 88,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,578,000 after buying an additional 65,485 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Grindr by 2.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the period. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Grindr in the second quarter worth $310,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Grindr by 33.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 30,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 7,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Grindr by 27.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 55,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 11,963 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.22% of the company’s stock.

Grindr Company Profile

Grindr, trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol GRND, operates a global social networking and dating platform designed primarily for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (GBTQ) individuals. The company’s core offering is a location-based mobile application that enables users to connect, chat and share content with others in their vicinity. Through its free tier and premium subscription services—known as Grindr XTRA and Grindr Unlimited—Grindr provides enhanced features such as ad-free browsing, advanced filters and unlimited profile views, catering to a broad spectrum of user needs.

Originally launched in 2009 by entrepreneur Joel Simkhai, Grindr was one of the first mobile apps to leverage geolocation technology for social networking.