STUB Soars 6.9%: Reasons Behind the Rebound Ahead of Class Action Deadline

StubHub Holdings Inc. (NYSE: STUB) shares closed at $13.61 on January 13, up 6.91% on the New York Stock Exchange. Its market capitalization swelled by about $324.08 million in a single day—roughly ₩470 billion—to recover to approximately $4.366 billion. Given the sharp plunge in the stock price immediately after its November IPO and the resulting hit to investor confidence, the gradual recovery over the past month now appears to be regaining traction.

This rebound seems to reflect investors’ relief that much of the downside risk from pending lawsuits and investigations has already been priced in. With January 23 set as the deadline for lead-plaintiff appointments in the securities class action against StubHub, law firms have been issuing multiple notices about the cutoff for lead plaintiff selection, fueling the perception that key uncertainties are largely accounted for in the stock price. Since last week, several shareholder-rights firms—including Robbins Geller, Rosen Law, Hayburner Berman, and Glancy Prongay & Murray—have been inviting investors to join class actions, citing alleged false disclosures in StubHub’s IPO and a steep year-over-year drop in third-quarter free cash flow.

Founded in 2000, StubHub Holdings operates a global online marketplace for buying and selling live-event tickets—covering concerts, sports, theater, and more. After building its brand over two decades in the secondary ticket market, it was acquired by Viagogo in 2020 and adopted its current corporate structure. Its September 2025 IPO on the New York Stock Exchange raised about $800 million at a $23.50 offering price (approximately ₩1.16 trillion). However, its first-quarter results revealed a 143% year-over-year decline in third-quarter free cash flow and a sizable net loss, pushing the share price more than 30% below the IPO level. The company also faces an inquiry by the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority into its fees and price disclosures, as well as U.S. regulatory risks, all of which have spurred multiple class-action lawsuits.

Despite these headwinds, some institutional investors and brokerages remain bullish on StubHub’s long-term prospects. In December, Wedbush reaffirmed its “outperform” rating on the stock and set a one-year price target in the mid-$24 range, while hedge funds are said to hold a relatively high percentage of the shares. In the near term, however, the stock’s trajectory is likely to hinge on how effectively StubHub can resolve its regulatory and litigation challenges and present a credible roadmap to restore free cash flow and profitability.