Match Group goes public
STORY BY CHELSEA HOGG
Investing in stock is always a risk. What if you’ve invested in something that people stop using if it works well?
Tinder, Match.com and OKCupid are examples of services people drop if the service is successful for them. When looking for a partner of any kind online, the website or app becomes obsolete once you have found someone. That means stock could potentially be a risky investment.
Parent company Match Group is public, so its shares are now traded on the stock exchange. On a recent trading day, the value of MTCH (Match Group inc.) increased by 3.12% with a close price of $15.20.
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The fact that it has increased shows promise for now, but what about when people start finding matches and ending their subscription to the dating company?
Nineteen-year-old Mandy Jane, a repeat Tinder user found her ex-boyfriend on the app and made friends on it as well.
“I love the app because if it wasn’t for having it, I wouldn’t have met some amazing people I know now,” said Jane.
She also sees potential for the stock.
“I would buy stock in it if I were the type to buy stock at all because with this generation, more and more people are meeting online,” said Jane.
Tinder presents a person’s picture, quick list of interests, age, location and name.
Matches are made by tapping a heart or an “X”.
If you tap the heart for someone and they tap the heart for you, it’s a match.
There is also an instant message feature to message those you match with.
Tyler Cooper, a 20-year-old who retired from social media dating, found his boyfriend on Tinder.
“I finally met a guy who wanted a date and not just something short-term,” said Cooper.
He and his boyfriend have been dating for almost a year and can thank Tinder for triggering their close and exciting relationship, but he didn’t always think the app was such a good idea.
“At first, the idea of a dating app was a little confusing and didn’t really appeal to me that much, but I’m glad I took the risk,” said Cooper.
When it comes to the financial side of things, Cooper also feels the stock could be a good investment.
“It’s so popular for our age group, it could be successful,” he says.
But not everyone sees it that way.
Daniel Taddeo, 19, is a Tinder user who thinks the concept for the app can only go so far before the stock’s value will decrease.
“I know a lot of people use it, but after a while the people using it would eventually stop, because they found matches,” said Taddeo.
However, as someone who has found matches on Tinder, Taddeo also thinks since the app is more used for “hook-ups”, its value wouldn’t decrease as easily as for longer-term relationship apps like Match.com.
