Investors in Bumble (BMBL) should be positive about the major shake-up at the dating app, with a host of new leadership changes and updated financials indicating the stock could be on the up after a troubled year.
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Wells Fargo top-rated analyst Ken Gawrelski said he was “encouraged” by the return of founder Whitney Wolfe Herd as CEO of Bumble, part of the company’s current turnaround plans. He maintained a Hold rating on the stock while awaiting the strategic update for 2025.
Founder leadership involved again “could enable significant change at a time when it may very well be needed in the online dating industry,” the five-star analyst told investors in a research note.
However, one-star Bank of America analyst Curtis Nagle reiterated his Sell rating on the stock following the news.
BMBL Founder Returns
It comes after the company announced last week that founder Wolfe Herd is returning to the helm, as it struggles with an increasingly competitive dating app industry and changing consumer needs.
Shares of BMBL fell after the company announced Wolfe Herd, who has been the driving force behind the app since inception, was replacing Lidiane Jones, who was barely in the job a year.
Moreover, it follows a 45% decline in the stock over the last 12 months with an app refresh failing to land well with younger audiences, it seems. It also follows the departures of finance chief Anu Subramanian, a key player in the stock’s initial public offering in 2021, as well as marketing head Selby Drummond.
BMBL Raises Outlook
Nevertheless, the company also raised its outlook for its Fiscal fourth quarter 2024, saying total revenue and Bumble App revenue would come in above the midpoints of the previously provided outlook ranges. Adjusted earnings in Q4 would still come within the previously disclosed outlook range, the company said.
Is BMBL a Good Stock to Buy?
Overall, Wall Street has a Hold consensus rating on the stock, based on four Buy, 11 Holds and one Sell. The average BMBL price target of $8.15 implies over 5% upside potential from current levels after the stock declined 45% in the last 12 months.
