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

Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of 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 shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TRIP. TD Cowen raised their price target on Tripadvisor from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Tripadvisor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Tripadvisor in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley boosted their price target on Tripadvisor from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Tripadvisor in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.71.

Tripadvisor Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Tripadvisor stock opened at $13.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 697.85, a PEG ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.34. Tripadvisor has a fifty-two week low of $12.93 and a fifty-two week high of $28.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.08 and a 200 day moving average of $15.03.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tripadvisor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Tripadvisor by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 3,670,063 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $53,179,000 after purchasing an additional 917,689 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Tripadvisor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. River Global Investors LLP increased its position in shares of Tripadvisor by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 72,808 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Tripadvisor by 544.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 111,044 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 93,822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.