Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Trading 8.7% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) rose 8.7% on Friday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $200.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. Expedia Group traded as high as $190.40 and last traded at $189.24. Approximately 1,524,780 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 2,169,300 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.13.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Benchmark boosted their price target on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Expedia Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Expedia Group from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.87, for a total transaction of $1,568,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 188,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,570,779.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.87, for a total transaction of $1,568,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 188,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,570,779.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,417 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.60, for a total transaction of $729,128.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 84,543 shares in the company, valued at $11,379,487.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,019 shares of company stock worth $6,958,891 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXPE. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Expedia Group by 4,525.0% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 185 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 93.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 217 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 709.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Expedia Group Trading Up 3.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45. The firm has a market cap of $23.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.47.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The online travel company reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.17 by $0.34. Expedia Group had a net margin of 6.09% and a return on equity of 47.55%. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 8.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.