Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 29th, there was short interest totalling 5,490,000 shares, a decrease of 25.0% from the February 14th total of 7,320,000 shares. Currently, 5.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Tripadvisor Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ TRIP traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.34. 4,118,733 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,737,341. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 455.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.56. Tripadvisor has a 52-week low of $14.15 and a 52-week high of $28.20. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 2.27.

Tripadvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The travel company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $390.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.93 million. Tripadvisor had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 0.56%. Analysts forecast that Tripadvisor will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tripadvisor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TRIP. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Tripadvisor during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Tripadvisor during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Tripadvisor by 1,227.3% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,699 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Tripadvisor by 2,053.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 2,053 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Tripadvisor by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,497 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. 74.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRIP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Tripadvisor in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho upped their target price on Tripadvisor from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. TheStreet raised Tripadvisor from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Tripadvisor from $21.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Tripadvisor from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.29.

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.