Swipe Right on Tinder, Match IPO?
Remember the dark ages of dating. When you had to shower, put on clean clothes and hang out at a bowling alley to find that special someone? Nothing says love like the smell of burnt Tombstone pizza, Miller Lite and the stuff they spray those shoes with. With these fancy computers and cell phones everyone’s using nowadays, you don’t even have to brush your teeth to meet your sweetheart.
The Match Group has been cashing in on loneliness for years and recently announced the pricing of their IPO. The company will offer 38.3 million shares in a price range of $ 12 to $ 14. That sets the top end of their money raise at $ 536.7 million. The company and their total of 59 million monthly active users plans to trade on the NASDAQ under the symbol MTCH.
I’ve personally gone to at least three weddings where the bride and groom met online. It provides the perfect forum for my friends to weave a web of lies women can’t help but fall in love with. After reading their profiles, I honestly believed they weren’t the rotten scumbags I’ve known my whole life. It’s no wonder a recent study showed that one-third of all miserable I mean, married couples in the US meet online. A time-tested strategy of making money is to sell hope to desperate people. Nike (NKE – Analyst Report) shoes to make you jump higher. A Weight Watchers (WTW – Snapshot Report) diet to make you skinny. Estee Lauder (EL – Analyst Report) make up to make you pretty, ehh, to me you’re pretty anyways baby. Notice, nobody sells you a beard. You have to earn this badge of masculinity. Hashtag, Beard game strong.
The Match Group owns 45 different brands including Match, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish and Tinder. The desperation added up to revenues of $ 888 million last year and net earnings of $ 148 million. Why so many different brands? Well, Match has evolved into a frightening place for stalkers, stage five clingers and cat ladies. OkCupid is for normal, responsible adults just trying to find other self-respecting individuals that don’t jump all over the first person they see. Plenty of Fish is for poor people.
And then there’s Tinder. Tinder is a microcosm of everything that’s wrong with society today. Snap judgements, late night hook ups, the walk of shame. You people need to go to church. I’ve never used Tinder. I was afraid of all the broken thumbs this beard would cause. Besides, I’m working on my own app called, you guessed it, What about Dave?
Match is now a wholly owned subsidiary of InterActive Corp (IAC). IAC will still own all outstanding shares of the class B common stock which will have most of the voting rights. If you’re looking to get in ahead of the IPO, maybe you should hold off. IAC is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) with Growth and Value Style Scores of “C” and a Momentum Style Score of “B.” The internet commerce industry is in the Top 22% of our Zacks Industry Rank but when Match trades, it will likely enter the internet content industry that currently holds Spark Networks and Jiayuan.com and is in the Top 13%.
Be sure to click FOLLOW THE AUTHOR above to stay on top of all the hot momentum stocks at Zacks.com. David Bartosiak is the Momentum Stock Strategist with Zacks, editor of the Momentum Trader and Home Run Investor, and host of “Trending Stocks” – See more at: http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/197381/swipe-right-on-tinder-match-ipo#sthash.UYmrtNmd.dpuf
