TripAdvisor Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:TRIP)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors purchased 10,403 TripAdvisor call options, 61% above the average volume of 6,455 contracts.
• Insider selling: CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 8,000 shares for $98,400 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his holdings by 18.87%.
• Mixed analyst outlook: Wall Street’s average rating is “Reduce,” with a $14.86 target price, while TripAdvisor recently missed quarterly earnings expectations and reported a 4% year-over-year revenue decline.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 10,403 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 61% compared to the average volume of 6,455 call options.

Insider Activity at TripAdvisor

In related news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total transaction of $98,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at $423,070.80. This trade represents a 18.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TripAdvisor

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,718 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in TripAdvisor in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in TripAdvisor by 192.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,767 shares of the travel company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in TripAdvisor by 308.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,077 shares of the travel company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of TripAdvisor during the third quarter worth about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on TRIP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of TripAdvisor from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of TripAdvisor in a report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $13.70 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of TripAdvisor from $10.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TripAdvisor has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $14.86.

TripAdvisor Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:TRIP traded up $0.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $14.22. 1,113,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,582,364. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $13.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.86. TripAdvisor has a 12-month low of $9.01 and a 12-month high of $20.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The travel company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $382.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $384.69 million. TripAdvisor had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that TripAdvisor will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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