A major move in professional sports recently took place, as the organization behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Endeavor Group (NYSE:EDR), staged a merger that brought World Wrestling Entertainment and the UFC under one banner. Now, the two are known as the TKO Group (NYSE:TKO), and it’s already drawing interest from analysts.
Guggenheim Securities was quick to the table, putting a Buy rating on the stock and establishing a price target of $130 per share. Essentially, Guggenheim noted, everything it’s already said about Endeavor Group and World Wrestling Entertainment goes for the TKO Group since the TKO Group is nothing but those two former businesses working in tandem. Management looks for between $50 million and $100 million in annual “run-rate net operating synergies,” a figure regarded by some analysts as “conservative.”
Vince McMahon, formerly a majority shareholder of WWE, is no longer a majority shareholder of TKO Group. In fact, WWE is a minority partner; Endeavor itself holds 51% of TKO Group, while McMahon himself only holds 16.4% of the newly merged operation.
Though Endeavor Group was down a bit today, it’s still looking decent overall. With five Buy ratings, Endeavor Group stock is considered a Strong Buy by analyst consensus. Further, with an average price target of $31.20, Endeavor Group stock offers investors 43.75% upside potential.
