MTCH just pulled back to a historically bullish trendline on the charts
Match Group Inc (NASDAQ:MTCH) is coming off a record high of $182, touched last Thursday, Oct. 21, following Alphabet's (GOOGL) decision to decrease its service fee for all third-party subscription apps on the Google Play Store to 15%, beginning Jan. 1 of next year. The Tinder parent has since dropped back toward the $155 level, which served as support just before last Thursday's rally. What's more, the stock just came back within striking distance of a historically bullish trendline that could help keep shares afloat come November.
Specifically, MTCH came within one standard deviation of its 40-day moving average following a lengthy period above the trendline, according to data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. Per White's data, 10 similar signals have occurred during the past three years, and Match Group stock was higher one month after all but one of these signals, averaging a 7.2% return. A similar signal from MTCH's current perch of $157.44 would put it just below the $169 level.
Short sellers have been targeting Match Group in droves, with short interest up 12% in the last two reporting periods. The 15.32 million shares sold short make up 5.7% of the stock's available float, and would take almost four days to cover, at its average daily pace of trading. Should some of these bears begin to change their tune, it could provide tailwinds for Match stock.
Options traders have been more bearish than usual, too. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), MTCH sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio that stands higher than 82% of readings from the past 12 months, implying long puts are much more popular than usual.