Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM)

Key Points

• Unusual put buying hit Trip.com Group, with investors purchasing 8,449 put options on Friday — about 105% above the stock’s normal put volume.
• Analysts have turned more cautious on TCOM, with several firms cutting price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $63.20.
• Trip.com shares fell 3.0% to $42.45, and the company recently reported EPS of $0.83, missing estimates while revenue of $2.35 billion came in slightly above expectations.

Trip.com Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:TCOM - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 8,449 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 105% compared to the typical volume of 4,120 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TCOM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. China Renaissance reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Trip.com Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Trip.com Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on Trip.com Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Trip.com Group from $78.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Trip.com Group from $79.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.20.

Trip.com Group Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ TCOM traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.45. 2,192,792 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,516,746. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. Trip.com Group has a 52 week low of $38.04 and a 52 week high of $78.99. The company has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of -0.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.32.

Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). Trip.com Group had a return on equity of 17.57% and a net margin of 48.26%.The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Trip.com Group's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Trip.com Group will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Trip.com Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TCOM. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Trip.com Group by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 398 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in shares of Trip.com Group by 69.3% in the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Trip.com Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Trip.com Group by 384.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Trip.com Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 35.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Trip.com Group

Trip.com Group NASDAQ: TCOM is a China-based online travel services company that provides a broad range of consumer and business travel products. The company operates consumer-facing travel platforms and mobile apps that enable users to search, book and manage hotel reservations, airline tickets, packaged tours, rail travel, car rentals, airport transfers and local activities. It also offers corporate travel management and B2B solutions that support travel suppliers and downstream distribution partners.

Headquartered in Shanghai, Trip.com Group serves customers across China and increasingly in international markets through a portfolio of brands and global distribution channels.

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