Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Upgraded at Melius Research

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) was upgraded by Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on EXPE. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $130.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Melius raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. Benchmark increased their price target on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.63.

Expedia Group Trading Down 0.6 %

EXPE stock opened at $184.99 on Monday. Expedia Group has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $192.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $181.33 and its 200 day moving average is $152.47. The company has a market capitalization of $23.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total value of $1,273,930.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,035,922.13. This represents a 38.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,951 shares of company stock valued at $5,045,310 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $639,994,000 after buying an additional 1,431,500 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 36.8% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,654,200 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $334,403,000 after acquiring an additional 714,229 shares during the period. Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Expedia Group by 46.3% in the 3rd 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. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 1,649.4% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 407,605 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $51,354,000 after purchasing an additional 384,305 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,183,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.