RBC downgrades Bumble on secular online dating challenges

RBC Capital analyst Brad Erickson downgraded Bumble (BMBL) to Sector Perform from Outperform with a price target of $5, down from $7.50. The company’s Q3 was challenging and the shares are looking increasingly like a “value trap,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes online dating faces secular challenges that could worsen. Further, outside of a few select few industry-leading brands, Bumble’s product innovation runway seems very limited and unlikely to overcome the secular headwinds, contends RBC.