Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP)

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 4,559 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 90% compared to the average volume of 2,401 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 16,643 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,222.23. This trade represents a 51.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of TripAdvisor

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRIP. Tsfg LLC bought a new stake in shares of TripAdvisor in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of TripAdvisor by 86.9% in 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 period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in shares of TripAdvisor by 83.8% in 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 period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of TripAdvisor by 419.8% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,893 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 3,144 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of TripAdvisor in the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TripAdvisor Stock Performance

NASDAQ TRIP opened at $13.05 on Tuesday. TripAdvisor has a 52-week low of $10.43 and a 52-week high of $18.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.32.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The travel company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $398.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $386.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that TripAdvisor will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TRIP. Mizuho raised shares of TripAdvisor to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of TripAdvisor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.27.

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.