Stock Traders Buy High Volume of TripAdvisor Call Options (NASDAQ:TRIP)

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on TRIP shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of TripAdvisor in a research report on Friday, May 15th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TripAdvisor in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wedbush lifted their price target on TripAdvisor from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on TripAdvisor from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.19.

TripAdvisor Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ TRIP traded up $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.62. 1,581,333 shares of the company traded hands, 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 50-day moving average price of $11.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TripAdvisor news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $423,070.80. The trade was a 18.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TripAdvisor

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of TripAdvisor in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the period. 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. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in TripAdvisor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in TripAdvisor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.