Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM) Lowered to Neutral Rating by Macquarie Infrastructure

Key Points

• Macquarie Infrastructure downgraded Trip.com Group from outperform to neutral and cut its price target sharply to $44.30 from $70.90, implying only modest upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: several firms still have buy or overweight ratings, and MarketBeat shows an average Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $69.23.
• Recent fundamentals were mixed as Trip.com beat revenue expectations in its latest quarter with 21% year-over-year revenue growth, but EPS missed estimates by a penny and the stock has been trading well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Macquarie Infrastructure from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. They presently have a $44.30 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $70.90. Macquarie Infrastructure's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.41% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Trip.com Group in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Trip.com Group from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Trip.com Group from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Nomura lowered their price target on Trip.com Group from $71.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Trip.com Group in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.23.

Trip.com Group Price Performance

Trip.com Group stock opened at $40.49 on Friday. Trip.com Group has a 52-week low of $38.04 and a 52-week high of $78.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.57 and a 200-day moving average of $56.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.34, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of -0.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.01). Trip.com Group had a net margin of 48.26% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Trip.com Group will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Trip.com Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Trip.com Group by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 37,884,726 shares of the company's stock worth $2,849,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912,238 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Trip.com Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,868,196 shares of the company's stock worth $742,088,000 after purchasing an additional 662,230 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Trip.com Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,379,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,742,000 after purchasing an additional 37,916 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Trip.com Group by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 5,053,389 shares of the company's stock worth $363,389,000 after acquiring an additional 111,944 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Trip.com Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,669,778 shares of the company's stock worth $335,804,000 after purchasing an additional 63,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.41% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Trip.com Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Trip.com Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Trip.com reported first-quarter revenue of about $2.35 billion, above analyst expectations, with year-over-year growth of 17.2%, showing continued demand for travel bookings. Trip.com Group earnings report and conference call
• Positive Sentiment: Management said it expects to serve 200 million inbound travelers over the next five years, signaling a long-term growth opportunity. Trip.com growth target article
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho reiterated an outperform rating and set a $65 price target, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Mizuho price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: A tourism-related memorandum of understanding with Tourism Tasmania could support future travel demand, but it is not likely to have an immediate financial impact. Trip.com and Tourism Tasmania MoU
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 earnings came in at $0.83 per share, missing estimates, which suggests some pressure on profitability despite stronger revenue. Trip.com misses Q1 earnings estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue guidance of roughly $2.1 billion to $2.2 billion was well below consensus expectations, raising concerns that growth is slowing. Trip.com Q2 guidance press release
• Negative Sentiment: Several commentaries highlighted margin pressure and a decelerating outlook, reinforcing the market’s focus on softer near-term earnings momentum. Trip.com Q1 analysis

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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