Oppenheimer Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Stock Price

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) had its price target lowered by analysts at Oppenheimer from $235.00 to $230.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the online travel company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price points to a potential upside of 38.00% from the stock’s previous close.

EXPE has been the topic of several other reports. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Expedia Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Melius Research upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.43.

Expedia Group Price Performance

NASDAQ EXPE traded up $4.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $166.67. The stock had a trading volume of 893,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,184. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $21.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. Equities analysts forecast that Expedia Group will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expedia Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $670,565,000. Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 49.5% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 4,323,700 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $639,994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431,500 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 22.5% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,250,710 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $481,170,000 after acquiring an additional 596,510 shares during the period. Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 46.3% during the third 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. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

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.