What happened
Shares of Match Group (MTCH +2.33%) have jumped today, up by 10% as of 2:30 p.m. EST, after a Wall Street analyst boosted his price target on the stock. Wells Fargo reiterated an equal weight (equivalent to a neutral) rating but raised its valuation estimate from $140 to $160.
So what
Analyst Brian Fitzgerald has increased his price targets for several tech stocks today, including Snap and Pinterest, based on the same optimism around an improving macroeconomic environment that should help tech companies maintain the momentum that they enjoyed in 2020. The economy is expected to continue recovering as vaccine distribution expands, quarantine restrictions ease, and the world slowly starts to return to normal throughout 2021.
Image source: Getty Images.
Additionally, another round of stimulus is widely expected to be passed soon within the U.S., which will hopefully help stabilize the economy. The risk of an increase in corporate taxes is muted until the economy recovers more, in the analyst's view.
Now what
The optimism comes as rival dating platform Bumble, which is expanding into other areas of social networking, is preparing to go public after filing its S-1 Registration Statement earlier this month.
Match is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings results next week on Feb. 3 and the company is currently expecting revenue in the range of $40 million to $650 million. Wall Street is anticipating Match will narrowly exceed the high end of that outlook.
