Short Interest in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Expands By 12.8%

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,850,000 shares, a growth of 12.8% from the November 30th total of 4,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $351,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,345,000. This trade represents a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total transaction of $1,273,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,035,922.13. The trade was a 38.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock valued at $4,695,610. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 709.8% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the third quarter worth $51,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the second quarter worth $65,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the third quarter valued at $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on EXPE shares. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $145.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Expedia Group from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Expedia Group from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.77.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of EXPE stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $186.49. 1,568,011 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,065,277. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.31. Expedia Group has a fifty-two week low of $107.25 and a fifty-two week high of $192.34. The firm has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

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.