WWE Stock: Weekly Highlights #2
WWE stock had a tough week alongside the broader market, falling from a close of $91.34 last Friday to settle at $85.55 today. This represents a one-week decline of -6.64%. Since I have started covering WWE stock on Daily DDT, the stock is down -12.13% ($97.36).
WWE is still well above its 52-week low of $21.22 (+303.16%).
WWE is trading X.XX% below its 52-week and all-time high of $97.69 (-12.43%).
WWE STOCK PERFORMANCE, WEEK OF 10/08 TO 10/12
| Day | Open | Close | Change |
| Monday | $90.90 | $90.75 | -0.65% |
| Tuesday | $88.50 | $86.99 | -4.14% |
| Wednesday | $86.73 | $82.68 | -4.95% |
| Thursday | $82.33 | $82.99 | +0.31% |
| Friday | $85.47 | $85.55 | +3.08% |
Highlights From The Week
While the primary reason for the sell-off Monday through Wednesday is likely the result of market-wide conditions, my colleague at Seeking Alpha, Dan Victor, wrote a compelling piece on why WWE has upwards of 35% to the downside. Dan put a $60 price target on the stock which is the lowest I’ve seen in any writing community since the stocks recent surge.
WWE was able to finish Thursday up +0.31%, a day in which the Dow Jones was down 500 points, largely thanks to an analyst upgrade by Cannonball Research. Cannonball upgraded their price target from $78 to $95. Vasily Karasyoz, the analyst who wrote the note, expects revenue growth for WWE’s content rights business to improve by 32.4% in 2019 and 76.5% in 2020.
Kevin’s Take
I am slightly concerned at this point of the WWE relationship with Saudi Arabia, one catalyst that allowed the company to go from $22 to $98 this year. First, we have the disappearance and alleged murder of Saudi national and United States resident Jamal Khashoggi. WWE has released a statement saying they are “currently monitoring the situation” which some feel is not enough to continue this relationship. Second, WWE has switched arenas for Crown Jewel, going from a 67,000 seat capacity arena to a more palatable 25,000 seat one. Given this is a 10-year partnership, I am less than impressed with all the controversies surrounding it during the first year and is a bearish (negative) reason to own the stock right now.
The stock now trades closer to my 2019 price target of $82. I reiterate that target for the next 12 months and continue to recommend a HOLD.
WWE is currently trading at 65x 2019 earnings estimates ($1.31 EPS) and 26x 2020 earnings estimates ($3.29 EPS) based on Friday’s closing price of $85.55.
Next Earnings Report: October 25th, 2018
Recent Articles / Related Content
Weekly Highlights #1, Week of 10/01 through 10/05
Selected Analyst Reports
Kevin Cavanagh, Daily DDT: $82 Price Target (2019), $93-$95 Price Target (2020)
KeyBanc: $104 Price Target (*High Price*)
Morgan Stanley: $100 Price Target
BTIG: $92 Price Target
Disclosure: I have no positions in WWE stock and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. Investors should do their own due diligence before making any investment decisions.