Tripadvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Tripadvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

TRIP has been the topic of several other reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Tripadvisor in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Tripadvisor from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Tripadvisor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho raised Tripadvisor to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Tripadvisor from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Tripadvisor Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of TRIP traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.69. 2,313,287 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,380,928. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 684.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.36 and a 200 day moving average of $14.51. Tripadvisor has a 1-year low of $10.43 and a 1-year high of $18.80.

Tripadvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The travel company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.09. Tripadvisor had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 0.33%. The firm had revenue of $398.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. Tripadvisor's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Tripadvisor will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 16,643 shares of Tripadvisor stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.33, for a total value of $255,137.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $244,222.23. This trade represents a 51.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tripadvisor

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Tripadvisor by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,635,384 shares of the travel company's stock valued at $79,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,958 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tripadvisor by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 3,715,961 shares of the travel company's stock worth $54,885,000 after buying an additional 45,898 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Tripadvisor by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,633,866 shares of the travel company's stock valued at $53,674,000 after buying an additional 615,519 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Tripadvisor by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,364,542 shares of the travel company's stock valued at $49,694,000 after buying an additional 962,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its stake in shares of Tripadvisor by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 2,587,902 shares of the travel company's stock worth $38,223,000 after buying an additional 208,173 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Tripadvisor

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.