Professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) recently announced the appointment of Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-Chief Executive Officers of the company. The appointments come in the wake of Vince McMahon’s retirement announcement on Friday, July 22.
Following the news, shares of the company gained by almost 8% to close at $71.41 in yesterday’s extended trade.
WWE Moves Quick to Fill Key Leadership Roles Following Vince’s Exit
Lately, the company’s erstwhile CEO and Chairman, Vince McMahon, has been riddled with controversies related to hush-money agreements paid over alleged affairs with former WWE employees. Notably, MacMahon continues to be the majority shareholder of the company.
Meanwhile, Ms. McMahon has also been appointed Chairwoman of the Board, and Mr. Khan will continue to serve as a member of the Board.
Additionally, Paul “Triple H” Levesque will shoulder all responsibilities related to WWE’s creative front, in addition to his regular duties as the Executive Vice President for Talent Relations of WWE.
Management’s Commentary
In a joint statement, Ms. McMahon and Mr. Khan said, “We are grateful for the opportunity to lead WWE together with our unmatched management team. We recognize this is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility, and we look forward to serving the WWE Universe.”
Wall Street’s Take
Yesterday, Loop Capital Markets analyst Alan Gould upgraded the stock to a Buy from Hold with a price target of $90, which implies upside potential of 25.3% from current levels.
The upgraded rating has been attributed to the company by the analyst on stronger prospects of it getting acquired following Vince McMahon’s departure.
Overall, the Wall Street community is cautiously optimistic about the stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on four Buys and three Holds. The WWE average price target of $75.14 implies the stock has upside potential of 4.6% from current levels. Shares have gained 44.8% over the past year.
TipRanks Website Traffic
TipRanks’ Website Traffic Tool, which uses data from SEMrush Holdings (SEMR), the world’s biggest website usage monitoring service, offers insight into WWE’s performance this quarter.
According to the tool, the WWE website recorded a 22.58% monthly fall in global visits in June, compared to the same period last year. However, year-to-date, WWE website traffic increased by 1.68%, compared to the previous year.
WWE’s website traffic trends show muted activity on the company’s websites. With an impending recession, consumers are finding it difficult to spend on discretionary items like WWE superstar shirts, championship belts, or others. Perhaps this could be the reason for the company’s website activity slowing down.
Learn how Website Traffic can help you research your favorite stocks.
Key Takeaways
By keeping things within the family, Vince McMahon gives evidence of his shrewd business acumen, as Stephanie McMahon is his daughter and the “Game” Paul Levesque is his son-in-law. Although McMahon will no longer occupy any operational role within the company, he will still continue to wield considerable influence as he remains the majority shareholder of the company.
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