Amid current market turmoil, Spark Networks (LOV)  appears to be an attractive investment at current price levels. LOV has dropped nearly 17% since the start of the year.  The company made a key acquisition of the popular Jewish mobile dating app JSwipe for $7M in 2015 and has undergone a critical turnaround that has seen a restructure and management shift.

Spark Networks initially pursued a patent infringement claim against then-competitor JSwipe in 2014. Several JSwipe users believed they were registering for JDate's mobile app when they were registering for an unrelated company entirely. What started as a lawsuit ended in a key acquisition for Spark Networks.

While the online dating market is consistently growing and evolving, Spark Networks' portfolio of dating websites has remained primarily desktop-based. The rapid rise of mobile dating apps (led by Tinder and Bumble) is a market segment Spark Networks continues to address to stay relevant in the online dating world. A key driver in the online dating revolution - mobile dating has become less stigmatized than its desktop counterpart. The downfall of desktop dating is upon us, as evidenced by the industry-wide shift toward a mobile-based interface.

JSwipe, a Tinder-like dating app for Jewish millennials, is becoming a household name within the Jewish community. JSwipe is the world's No. 1 Jewish dating app, but has yet to monetize its growth. An introduction of a premium subscription service to JSwipe is likely as paid subscribers are Spark Networks' sole source of revenue.

JSwipe the Jewish Linkedin?

Jewish Networks, comprised of JDate's mostly age 35-plus users, accounted for 38% of total revenue for LOV in 2014.  JSwipe has amassed over 450,000 users (mostly aged 18-30) in two years. A successful user-to-subscriber conversion could significantly grow LOV's Jewish Networks revenue. Spark Network has already seen a 1.3% sequential increase to 65,004 users from Q3 to Q4. Total users growth came in at 1.4% Q/Q increase.  The implementation of advertising within the JSwipe platform, like Tinder has done, is also a potential revenue stream for the company.

Spark Networks' acquisition of JSwipe, and its large user base, could be a catalyst for growth moving forward. The changing environment of the online dating industry requires adaptation. By adding a product whose demographic in the Jewish dating world was previously unattainable through JDate alone, Spark is making advancements to the forefront of the online dating world.

By connecting members of a wide geographic diaspora,  JSwipe provides more opportunity for the Jewish community than just dating.  It is connecting users from across the globe of an otherwise tight-knit Jewish community.  The ability to connect with users for more than just dating gives JSwipe many practical uses and several users have mentioned the unique networking and businesses opportunities that have arisen from using JSwipe's platform.