Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,280,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the May 31st total of 5,960,000 shares. Approximately 5.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Expedia Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE traded up $1.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $124.25. The stock had a trading volume of 845,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,495,796. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $120.42 and its 200 day moving average is $133.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Expedia Group has a 52 week low of $92.48 and a 52 week high of $160.05. The stock has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.78.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The online travel company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.96) by $0.57. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 41.63%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Expedia Group will post 9.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on EXPE. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 544 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.38, for a total value of $61,678.72. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,382.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Expedia Group news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 6,722 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.71, for a total value of $757,636.62. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,676,600.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 544 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.38, for a total transaction of $61,678.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at $1,268,382.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. ValueAct Holdings L.P. acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth $645,346,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth $334,632,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 414.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 686,244 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $94,512,000 after buying an additional 552,831 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the first quarter worth $40,976,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 90.4% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 557,243 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $76,760,000 after buying an additional 264,572 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Company Profile

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.