By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Bumble stock (NASDAQ:BMBL) traded nearly 5% lower in Wednesday’s premarket after the dating site operator announced its early backers will cash out another part of their holding.
Shareholders led by Blackstone (NYSE:BX) will sell 15 million shares - around 12% of the company's entire equity. That may rise by another 2.25 million shares (1.9% of shares outstanding) if underwriters exercise an over-allotment option.
At Thursday's closing price, the 15 million share block was worth around $866 million.
The company, whose chief site is a rarity in the world of dating apps in as much as it only allows women to initiate contact, has seen its stock rise by around one-third since listing in February. That's despite ongoing losses and an apparent slowdown in revenue growth as pandemic-related tailwinds faded.
Bumble expects third-quarter revenue between $195 million and $198 million and annual revenue in a range of $752 million to $762 million. As such, its current valuation is over nine times expected annual sales, according to data compiled by Investing.com.