Traders Purchase High Volume of TripAdvisor Put Options (NASDAQ:TRIP)

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 10,119 put options on the company. This is an increase of 54% compared to the average daily volume of 6,559 put options.

TripAdvisor Price Performance

NASDAQ TRIP traded down $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.38. 255,249 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,628,986. TripAdvisor has a 1-year low of $8.02 and a 1-year high of $17.53. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 940.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The travel company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $385.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $506.27 million. TripAdvisor had a return on equity of 4.23% and a net margin of 0.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that TripAdvisor will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TripAdvisor news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total value of $75,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,809.20. This represents a 20.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in TripAdvisor during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $239,065,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in TripAdvisor by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,966,046 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $68,084,000 after purchasing an additional 77,501 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in TripAdvisor by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,973,534 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $42,356,000 after purchasing an additional 210,591 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its position in TripAdvisor by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 1,840,229 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $15,403,000 after purchasing an additional 446,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Converium Capital Inc. bought a new position in TripAdvisor in the 1st quarter valued at $11,460,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of TripAdvisor in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on TripAdvisor from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. BTIG Research cut TripAdvisor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on TripAdvisor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $14.04.

About TripAdvisor

Tripadvisor, Inc (NASDAQ: TRIP) operates a global travel guidance and experiences platform. Its flagship Tripadvisor brand provides user-generated reviews, ratings, photos and travel information covering hotels, restaurants, attractions and destinations, helping travelers research and plan trips.

The company also operates Viator, an online marketplace for tours, activities and other travel experiences, and TheFork, a digital restaurant reservation platform serving diners and restaurants.