StubHub shares tick higher for third day in a row after Citi upgrade

Shares of StubHub gained on Friday after Citi upgraded the ticket reselling platform.

Analyst Jason Bazinet raised his rating to buy from neutral. He did trim his price target to $7 from $9, though that still represents 18% upside from Thursday's close.

Bazinet wrote Thursday he expects StubHub's adjusted EBITDA to top analyst expectations, with full-year earnings coming in near the top end of the company's guidance.

The strong forecast is driven by record-setting weekly app downloads during the World Cup, and even higher numbers since. The analyst also expects StubHub to generate $10.9 billion in gross merchandise sales for 2026, above the firm's guidance.

Shares gained 3.8% on the day. If they close higher, it would mark their third consecutive daily gain.

"StubHub reached record levels of weekly app downloads in 2Q26 during the World Cup. However, total app downloads in 3Q26 QTD have increased since 2Q26. During 2Q26 StubHub had ~1.2 million app downloads. We expect StubHub will achieve ~1.4 million app downloads in 3Q26 and ~0.8 million app downloads in 4Q26," the note read.

Bazinet also pointed out that StubHub is the most popular online ticket reselling platform, with around 40% of the market share.

The company has also benefited from a blockbuster summer sports season and strong concert demand. To be sure, StubHub told CNBC in earlier this year it's seeing the "K-shaped economy" pattern occurring in live music, with demand for larger scale events surging as demand for smaller venues falters.

StubHub's stock is down 51% year to date.