TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Shares of TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $14.99, but opened at $15.88. TripAdvisor shares last traded at $17.50, with a volume of 5,669,360 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TRIP shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $16.00 to $16.25 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of TripAdvisor in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of TripAdvisor from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.27.

TripAdvisor Trading Up 15.8%

The stock's 50 day moving average is $14.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 46.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The travel company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.09. TripAdvisor had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $398.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TripAdvisor, Inc. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TripAdvisor news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 16,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.33, for a total transaction of $255,137.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,222.23. This represents a 51.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of TripAdvisor

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of TripAdvisor by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,511 shares of the travel company's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its position in shares of TripAdvisor by 2.9% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 35,684 shares of the travel company's stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of TripAdvisor by 86.9% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the travel company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in shares of TripAdvisor by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 3,414 shares of the travel company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of TripAdvisor by 5.2% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,655 shares of the travel company's stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TripAdvisor Company Profile

TripAdvisor, Inc operates as an online travel company, primarily engages in the provision of travel guidance products and services worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Brand Tripadvisor, Viator, and TheFork. The Brand Tripadvisor segment offers travel guidance platforms for travelers to discover, generate, and share authentic user-generated content in the form of ratings and reviews for destinations, points-of-interest, experiences, accommodations, restaurants, and cruises.