Wolfe Research says WWE shares could rally 30% following Vince McMahon's return

Published Tue, Jan 31 20235:56 AM ESTUpdated Tue, Jan 31 20238:57 AM EST

Wolfe Research reiterated WWE as outperform, noting that the return of Vince McMahon could jolt the company's TV rights renewal process. Analyst Peter Supino also placed a price target of $111 on the stock, which implies a 30.7% upside from where the stock closed Monday. Earlier, Wolfe Research published a note downgrading WWE shares in error. Stephanie McMahon resigned earlier this month from her role as co-CEO and chairwoman following the unanimous election of her father, Vince, as company's executive chairman. She came to the role from a leave of absence after her father retired following sexual abuse allegations. "We think there's more game theory to Vince's return than what meets the eye," Supino said in the correct note to clients. Before coming into the co-CEO role, Stephanie left her position as chief brand officer to focus on family. Supino said Vince's return could give a "shot in the arm" to the 2025 TV rights renewal process and his willingness to sell could drive up prices for the rights. But Supino did note the possibility of Vince's legal troubles hurting ad sales. Overall, Supino said he likes the new makeup of the C-suite and said sees the potential for new creative leadership to drive up ratings ahead of a new renewal cycle. But he said there is also the possibility that ratings could fall amid concerns over mismanagement. And Supino said the stock could be negatively impacted if recessionary fears impact consumer spending, increasing competition that could attempt to poach talent or if a cooling in merger or acquisition interest hurts investor interest. He also said to expect the company to report higher expenses due to the company bringing on big names like The Rock and Undertaker. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report. Correction: This article has been updated to reflect Wolfe Research's correct sentiment on WWE after the firm released a report in error in which the stock was downgraded. A previous headline also misspelled Vince McMahon's last name.