Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) Short Interest Up 23.9% in February

Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,950,000 shares, an increase of 23.9% from the January 31st total of 8,030,000 shares. Approximately 9.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on TRIP shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Tripadvisor in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Tripadvisor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Tripadvisor in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Tripadvisor from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Tripadvisor in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tripadvisor

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Tripadvisor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Tripadvisor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Tripadvisor during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tripadvisor by 204.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,298 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Tripadvisor by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 3,414 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tripadvisor Stock Performance

Shares of TRIP opened at $13.95 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.03. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 697.85, a P/E/G ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.34. Tripadvisor has a 52-week low of $12.93 and a 52-week high of $28.76.

Tripadvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The travel company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $411.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.02 million. Tripadvisor had a net margin of 0.33% and a return on equity of 9.02%. Equities research analysts predict that Tripadvisor will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tripadvisor Company Profile

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.