Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Downgraded to “Neutral” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Piper Sandler currently has $145.00 price objective on the online travel company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $175.00.

EXPE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho increased their price target on Expedia Group from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut Expedia Group from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Expedia Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wedbush restated a neutral rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $148.08.

Expedia Group Stock Down 15.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $115.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group has a 52-week low of $87.94 and a 52-week high of $160.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $133.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.45.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The online travel company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.10. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 6.18%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Expedia Group will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 5,119 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total value of $702,377.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,492,844.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 115.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 39,314 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $5,967,000 after buying an additional 21,095 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 263,351 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $39,974,000 after buying an additional 15,759 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 355,871 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $54,018,000 after buying an additional 43,820 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 769,665 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $79,329,000 after buying an additional 56,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 80,577 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $8,305,000 after buying an additional 13,797 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.