TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $20.00. The stock had previously closed at $12.41, but opened at $13.60. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. TripAdvisor shares last traded at $13.4380, with a volume of 3,256,436 shares.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on TRIP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of TripAdvisor in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on TripAdvisor from $16.00 to $13.70 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on TripAdvisor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on TripAdvisor from $10.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of TripAdvisor from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TripAdvisor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total transaction of $98,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 34,396 shares in the company, valued at $423,070.80. This represents a 18.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headwater Capital Co Ltd bought a new position in TripAdvisor in the third quarter worth about $14,959,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in TripAdvisor by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,210,903 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $35,949,000 after acquiring an additional 972,369 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in TripAdvisor by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 452,986 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $7,366,000 after acquiring an additional 50,355 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of TripAdvisor by 1,712.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,107,995 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $16,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,858 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TripAdvisor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,294,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TripAdvisor Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.96.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The travel company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $382.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $384.69 million. TripAdvisor had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that TripAdvisor, Inc. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TripAdvisor Company Profile

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) is a leading online travel company that operates a digital platform for travel information, reviews and booking services. The company’s flagship website and mobile apps allow users to access and contribute travel-related content—ranging from hotel and restaurant reviews to ratings for tours, attractions and vacation rentals—helping consumers plan and book trips around the world.

The core of TripAdvisor’s offering is its community-driven review system, which aggregates user-generated feedback alongside editorial content and professional photography.