Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP)

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 24,663 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 346% compared to the average daily volume of 5,534 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TripAdvisor news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total value of $98,400.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TripAdvisor

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of TripAdvisor by 295.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,300 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,718 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in TripAdvisor during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in TripAdvisor by 192.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in TripAdvisor by 308.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,077 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in TripAdvisor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRIP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised TripAdvisor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $14.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of TripAdvisor from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of TripAdvisor in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $10.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.19.

TripAdvisor Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TRIP traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $12.62. 1,581,333 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,740,070. TripAdvisor has a 1-year low of $9.01 and a 1-year high of $20.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.13 and a 200 day moving average of $11.89.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The travel company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.08). TripAdvisor had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 0.99%.The company had revenue of $382.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate 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.