Less than a month before WrestleMania 35 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) stock ripped higher Thursday after the company got its highest Wall Street price target yet.
WWE's stock reached its highest level of 2019 after Wolfe Research raised its price target for WWE shares from $105 to $157, a new high water mark among analysts covering the stock. The average analyst price target for WWE is $100.
One Wolfe analyst said WWE’s earnings and revenue growth puts the stock in rare company along with stocks like Liberty Media/Formula One, Manchester United and Madison Square Garden
The new price target represents more than 70% upside for WWE stock, which is already up more than 400 percent in the past three years on the strength of huge new U.S. TV deals. Several analysts remain bullish on WWE’s outlook for 2019 and beyond given new TV deals in the U.K. and India in the works.
WWE investors are also expecting big things from next month’s WrestleMania event, its biggest show of the year. Last year’s WrestleMania in New Orleans reportedly had a $175-million impact on the local economy. The 78,133 fans that attended last year’s event made it the highest-grossing event in history at the Superdome at $14.1 million.
The main event for this year’s event has yet to be confirmed, but it could be the first ever WrestleMania with an all-female final. "Monday Night Raw" Women’s Champion and former UFC superstar Ronda Rousey is defending her championship against the company's fast-rising star, Becky Lynch, as well as Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania.
Shares in WWE dipped 37 cents Friday to $90.16
