Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP)

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 12,351 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 115% compared to the typical volume of 5,746 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at TripAdvisor

In other news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 8,000 shares of TripAdvisor stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $423,070.80. This trade represents a 18.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of TripAdvisor during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,848,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in TripAdvisor by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,416,019 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $120,585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,445,607 shares in the last quarter. Converium Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in TripAdvisor during the 1st quarter valued at $11,460,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $16,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of TripAdvisor by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,210,903 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $35,949,000 after purchasing an additional 972,369 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TRIP. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TripAdvisor in a research note on Monday, June 15th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on TripAdvisor from $10.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on TripAdvisor from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on TripAdvisor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on TripAdvisor from $16.00 to $13.70 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TripAdvisor currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.19.

TripAdvisor Price Performance

TRIP stock opened at $14.00 on Wednesday. TripAdvisor has a 1 year low of $9.01 and a 1 year high of $20.16. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 140.01, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.92 and a 200 day moving average of $11.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last announced its 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that TripAdvisor will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

About TripAdvisor

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.