True Love Or Last Resort? Morgan Stanley Takes On Match Group
It isn’t hard to find love when there’s no competition. Match Group Inc (NASDAQ: MTCH) is the only online dating service on the public markets, but last resort or not, it’s found itself a mate.
The Rating: Morgan Stanley analysts Lauren Cassel and Brian Nowak initiated coverage on Match with and Overweight rating and a $103 price target.
The Thesis: Lockdown was a lonely experience for many single Americans. A lifting of their forced solitude may inspire a rush to the apps.
“We see a long and growing runway for growth given demographic tailwinds and greater adoption of online dating,” the analysts wrote, citing a global addressable market of about 600 million with 3.5% compound annual growth.
The coronavirus impetus compounds other favorable trends for dating apps, including a peak in the U.S. single population, an increase in young daters as a proportion of the single population, and the continued global penetration of internet and smartphone access.
Overall, Morgan Stanley anticipates 13% subscriber growth over the next five years, with Match nearly doubling its global payer penetration driven by international subscriptions.
“We view MTCH as a must-own structural grower in early innings with dominant market share,” Cassel and Nowak wrote. “As singles crave human interaction in a post COVID world, we model accelerating 2021 sub growth.”
MTCH Price Action: At the time of publication, Match traded down marginally around $89.
Related Links:
Study: More Harassment Seen In LGBT Online Dating
9 Countries Using Online Dating The Most
Photo courtesy of Tinder.
Latest Ratings for MTCH
Jun 2020 | Morgan Stanley | Initiates Coverage On | Overweight | |
May 2020 | Citigroup | Maintains | Buy | |
May 2020 | BMO Capital | Maintains | Market Perform |
View More Analyst Ratings for MTCH
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