TripAdvisor Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:TRIP)

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 12,351 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 115% compared to the average daily volume of 5,746 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush boosted their price target on TripAdvisor from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TripAdvisor in a research report on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of TripAdvisor from $16.00 to $13.70 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $10.50 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of TripAdvisor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, TripAdvisor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of TripAdvisor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRIP. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of TripAdvisor by 295.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,300 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of TripAdvisor in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of TripAdvisor by 192.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,767 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of TripAdvisor by 308.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,077 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 3,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TripAdvisor in the third quarter worth about $58,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TripAdvisor Price Performance

TripAdvisor stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $14.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,133,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,682,715. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.80 and its 200 day moving average is $11.76. TripAdvisor has a one year low of $9.01 and a one year high of $20.16.

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