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

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $210.00 to $174.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the online travel company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target points to a potential upside of 8.65% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on EXPE. HSBC raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.89.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $160.15 on Monday. Expedia Group has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $207.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,520 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Expedia Group by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 489 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 25,499 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $4,751,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,149 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diametric Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 4,737 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $883,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.