Shares of Magnite (MGNI +8.41%) charged out of the gate on Thursday, soaring as much as 12.9%. As of 11:40 a.m. ET, the stock was still up 7.2%.
The catalyst that sent the advertising technology (adtech) specialist higher was a court ruling with far-reaching implications for the space.
Image source: Getty Images.
A win for adtech
Magnite was the recipient of two price target increases from Wall Street analysts after a judge unsealed the full ruling in the antitrust case against Alphabet‘s (GOOGL +0.95%) (GOOG +1.03%) Google.
In a 106-page decision, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia rejected the U.S. Justice Department’s request that would force the company to sell its AdX advertising exchange business. The judge did, however, lay out a list of remedies that will be “sufficient to effectively pry open to competition the adtech markets that were injured by Google’s unlawful conduct, and prevent Google from reverting to anticompetitive conduct in these markets.”
The search giant will be required to submit to oversight for six years, allow publishers access to real-time bidding, and permit them to use competing ad exchanges. The details of these remedies are being worked out and are expected to be implemented within 60 days.
Today’s Change
(8.41%) $2.00
Current Price
$25.78
Key Data Points
Market Cap
Day’s Range
$24.63 – $26.84
52wk Range
$10.82 – $26.84
Volume
2.9M
Avg Vol
2.7M
Gross Margin
64.64%
Wall Street cheers
StoneX analyst Daniel Kurnos boosted his price target on Magnite stock to $43, up from $33, while maintaining a buy rating on the shares. That represents potential upside for investors of 81% compared to Wednesday’s closing price. In the wake of the ruling, the analysts called Magnite one of the firm’s “best ideas,” suggesting that the market is still underestimating the impact of the ruling on the ad industry.
Craig-Hallum analyst Jason Kreyer also weighed in, raising his price target to $32 from $28, implying potential gains of 35%. The analyst also opined that the ruling represents a significant tailwind for independent sell-side platforms like Magnite.
Optimism has fueled a big move higher for the stock, which has more than doubled over the past six months, putting it in positive territory for the year. Despite that rally, Magnite sells for just 23 times earnings, making it a rare bargain.
Danny Vena, CPA has positions in Alphabet and Magnite. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool recommends Magnite. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
