Short Interest in Grindr Inc. (NYSE:GRND) Increases By 33.5%

Grindr Inc. (NYSE:GRND) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,820,000 shares, an increase of 33.5% from the December 31st total of 5,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 721,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.4 days. Currently, 24.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Grindr

In other Grindr news, Director James Fu Bin Lu sold 195,600 shares of Grindr stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.39, for a total value of $2,814,684.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,977,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $503,321,634.59. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Zachary Katz sold 3,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total value of $50,151.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 580,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,521,938.40. The trade was a 0.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,399,000 shares of company stock valued at $36,303,532 in the last quarter. 76.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grindr

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRND. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Grindr by 219.9% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 179,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after purchasing an additional 123,600 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Grindr by 66.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 232,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after acquiring an additional 93,005 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Grindr by 10.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,287,000 after acquiring an additional 17,678 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC bought a new position in shares of Grindr in the fourth quarter worth about $1,211,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Grindr during the third quarter worth about $365,000. Institutional investors own 7.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on GRND shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of Grindr in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Grindr from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Grindr in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Grindr in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock.

Grindr Stock Performance

Shares of Grindr stock traded down $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $17.76. 745,044 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,026,929. Grindr has a 1 year low of $7.93 and a 1 year high of $18.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -50.81 and a beta of 0.31.

Grindr (NYSE:GRND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.02). Grindr had a negative net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 177.83%. The company had revenue of $89.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Grindr will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Grindr

Grindr Inc operates social network and dating application for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities worldwide. Its platform enables LGBTQ people to find and engage with each other, share content and experiences, and express themselves. The company offers ad-supported service and a premium subscription version.