Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 2,331,905 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 66% from the previous session’s volume of 1,401,153 shares.The stock last traded at $176.81 and had previously closed at $173.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EXPE. Bank of America raised Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Baird R W raised Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, October 7th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.96.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $22.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $184.57 and a 200 day moving average of $157.11.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The online travel company reported $5.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.42 by ($0.24). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 49.25% and a net margin of 7.97%. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.85 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total value of $1,273,930.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,035,922.13. The trade was a 38.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,198,700.75. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock worth $5,045,310 over the last quarter. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its stake in Expedia Group by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 4,323,700 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $639,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431,500 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Expedia Group by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,250,710 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $481,170,000 after purchasing an additional 596,510 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Expedia Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,927 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $472,212,000 after purchasing an additional 20,005 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Expedia Group by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,689,485 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $250,078,000 after purchasing an additional 144,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Expedia Group by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,576,472 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $233,349,000 after purchasing an additional 498,934 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.