By Steven Russolillo and Jonathan Cheng

Knick fans are howling at the possible end of Linsanity, but for investors, it could be a reason to cheer.

Whether Jeremy Lin stays or leaves the New York Knicks, the financial impact on Madison Square Garden will be marginal, analysts say. And that means the stock price's recent downdraft could represent a buying opportunity once investors turn their focus to the rest of MSG's properties.

Shares of MSG have struggled in recent days as the deadline for the Knicks to match Jeremy Lin's contract offer from the Houston Rockets approaches. The stock is down 0.7% on Tuesday, and has slid about 8% since free agency began earlier this month. The S&P 500, meanwhile, is flat for the month.

"There's much more to the MSG story than any one player on the Knicks," David Joyce, an analyst at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York, said in an interview with MarketBeat. He has a $40 price target on MSG, which assumes another 12% upside from current levels.