Investors Purchase High Volume of Trip.com Group Put Options (NASDAQ:TCOM)

Trip.com Group Limited Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:TCOM) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 8,449 put options on the company. This is an increase of 105% compared to the typical volume of 4,120 put options.

Trip.com Group Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of TCOM opened at $42.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Trip.com Group has a 12 month low of $38.04 and a 12 month high of $78.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.25. The firm has a market cap of $27.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.64, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of -0.03.

Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). Trip.com Group had a return on equity of 17.57% and a net margin of 48.26%.The business had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Trip.com Group will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TCOM. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Trip.com Group from $79.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Trip.com Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Trip.com Group from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Trip.com Group from $78.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Trip.com Group from $82.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Trip.com Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Trip.com Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Trip.com Group by 237.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Trip.com Group during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Trip.com Group by 601.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Trip.com Group by 384.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in Trip.com Group by 69.3% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 35.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Trip.com Group

Trip.com Group (NASDAQ: TCOM) is a China-based online travel services company that provides a broad range of consumer and business travel products. The company operates consumer-facing travel platforms and mobile apps that enable users to search, book and manage hotel reservations, airline tickets, packaged tours, rail travel, car rentals, airport transfers and local activities. It also offers corporate travel management and B2B solutions that support travel suppliers and downstream distribution partners.

Headquartered in Shanghai, Trip.com Group serves customers across China and increasingly in international markets through a portfolio of brands and global distribution channels.