Morgan Stanley Boosts Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Price Target to $300.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Expedia Group’s price target from $290 to $300 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 2.15% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Expedia has an overall consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $288.94, with 17 Buy ratings and 22 Hold ratings.
• Expedia reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.96 versus the $1.41 estimate and revenue of $3.43 billion, up 14.7% year over year.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $290.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the online travel company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.15% from the company's previous close.

EXPE has been the subject of several other reports. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on Expedia Group from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $334.00 target price for the company. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $270.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $266.00 to $262.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $288.94.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE traded down $10.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $293.69. 769,467 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,074,785. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. Expedia Group has a fifty-two week low of $174.05 and a fifty-two week high of $312.40. The business's 50 day moving average is $249.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.23.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.55. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 84.33% and a net margin of 9.81%.The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 17.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total value of $208,548.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,083 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,454.38. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total value of $1,095,566.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,569,384. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. RHS Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. RHS Financial LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Expedia Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 567 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,225 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Company Profile

Expedia Group NASDAQ: EXPE is a global travel technology company that operates an online marketplace connecting consumers, travel suppliers and third‑party partners. The company's platform enables search, comparison and booking of travel products and services, including hotels, airline tickets, vacation rentals, car rentals, cruises and packaged travel. Its portfolio comprises consumer-facing travel brands as well as corporate travel solutions and technology services that serve both leisure and business travelers.

Key offerings include consumer booking platforms and mobile apps that aggregate inventory from hotels, vacation rental managers, airlines and car rental companies, alongside ancillary travel services such as trip insurance and activities.

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