UFC Freedom 250 made history on June 14 as the only Ultimate Fighting Championship event to end all fights by knockout, but UFC stock had also suffered a rather heavy blow prior to the spectacle and is yet to recover from it.
Namely, the shares of UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) dropped nearly 5% on Friday, June 12, erasing a huge chunk of the weekly gains as investors shifted their focus to the White House UFC match.
The White House South Lawn fight itself, which reportedly cost $60 million to organize, did very little to reverse last Friday’s losses, as the stock is up only 1.3% in pre-market trading at the time of writing, Monday, June 15, when it sat at $206.
Still, investors were quick to note the uptick, some attributing it to the fact that CEO Dana White was a top donor during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, whose birthday UFC 250 was commemorating.
UFC shares rise following UFC White House event
While the fight has certainly boosted visibility for the brand due to its connections with the Trump family, another, more practical catalyst emerged on Monday in the form of institutional moves involving TKO shares.
Specifically, NFJ Investment Group disclosed the purchase of 18,990 shares valued at roughly $3.97 million in the fourth quarter, according to the firm’s latest SEC filing. It’s worth noting, however, that the disclosures are based on Form 13F data, which reflects positions at quarter-end and can lag by up to 45 days.
Moreover, a significant portion of market attention is also being directed to TKO’s upcoming dividend deadline. Indeed, shareholders must be on record by the close of today’s session to qualify for the payout on June 30, when Class A shareholders are set to receive $0.79 per share. As for future payments, the company has indicated they would be reviewed quarterly based on earnings, leverage, cash flow, and broader market conditions.
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