Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Sabre shares gapped up after the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.06 (beating the -$0.04 estimate) and revenue of $760.33M, sending the stock from $1.83 to a $2.17 open and heavy trading volume (~5.66M shares).
• Despite the beat, Wall Street remains cautious: analysts' consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of about $1.97, and most recent research notes are Hold/Neutral or Sell.
• Sabre is small-cap with a market cap of about $824M, a low P/E of 1.81, and high institutional ownership (~89.42%).

Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ:SABR - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $1.83, but opened at $2.17. Sabre shares last traded at $2.0850, with a volume of 5,663,182 shares trading hands.

The information technology services provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $760.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.02 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SABR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sabre from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $1.50 price objective on shares of Sabre in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $2.00 price objective on shares of Sabre in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $1.97.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sabre

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SABR. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sabre during the first quarter worth $25,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Sabre during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Sabre during the third quarter worth $32,000. Diligent Investors LLC acquired a new stake in Sabre during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sabre during the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.42% of the company's stock.

Sabre Price Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.53. The stock has a market cap of $823.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.01.

About Sabre

Sabre Corporation is a leading travel technology company that provides software, data, mobile and distribution solutions to the global travel industry. Through its Sabre travel marketplace, the company operates one of the world's principal global distribution systems (GDS), connecting travel buyers and suppliers across airlines, hotels, car rental companies and other travel providers. Sabre's suite of products includes reservation and ticketing systems for travel agencies, comprehensive airline operations and passenger services solutions, as well as hospitality property management and central reservation systems for hotels.

Established in 1960 as a joint venture between American Airlines and IBM, Sabre introduced one of the first computerized airline reservation systems, pioneering the automation of ticketing and inventory control.

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