Almir Ambeskovic Sells 8,000 Shares of TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) Stock

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total transaction of $98,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,070.80. This represents a 18.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

TripAdvisor Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TRIP traded up $0.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $11.95. 4,304,936 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,613,515. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. TripAdvisor, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.01 and a 12 month high of $20.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.67 and a 200-day moving average of $12.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 119.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.90.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The travel company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.08). TripAdvisor had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The firm had revenue of $382.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that TripAdvisor, Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on TRIP. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of TripAdvisor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of TripAdvisor in a report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of TripAdvisor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TripAdvisor has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.76.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TripAdvisor

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Converium Capital Inc. acquired a new position in TripAdvisor during the 1st quarter valued at $11,460,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in TripAdvisor by 15.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 842,334 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $8,979,000 after acquiring an additional 113,843 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems bought a new stake in TripAdvisor in the first quarter valued at about $98,000. Amundi increased its stake in TripAdvisor by 99.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,082 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 20,468 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in TripAdvisor by 47.0% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 141,921 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 45,401 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) is a leading online travel company that operates a digital platform for travel information, reviews and booking services. The company’s flagship website and mobile apps allow users to access and contribute travel-related content—ranging from hotel and restaurant reviews to ratings for tours, attractions and vacation rentals—helping consumers plan and book trips around the world.

The core of TripAdvisor’s offering is its community-driven review system, which aggregates user-generated feedback alongside editorial content and professional photography.