Short Interest in Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) Expands By 23.2%

Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 185,300 shares, an increase of 23.2% from the December 31st total of 150,400 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 138,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Azzurro Capital Inc sold 52,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.29, for a total value of $960,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,492,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,171,409.84. This represents a 1.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Holger Bartel sold 23,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.73, for a total value of $454,914.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,920. The trade was a 85.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 155,557 shares of company stock valued at $2,843,940 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 57.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Travelzoo during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Travelzoo during the second quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Travelzoo during the third quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in shares of Travelzoo during the third quarter worth $138,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Travelzoo in the third quarter valued at $173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on TZOO shares. Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of Travelzoo from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Travelzoo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Ascendiant Capital Markets lifted their target price on Travelzoo from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Travelzoo Trading Up 0.4 %

TZOO traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.83. 64,905 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 96,526. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.56. Travelzoo has a 1 year low of $7.12 and a 1 year high of $22.44. The firm has a market cap of $233.99 million, a P/E ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 1.71.

Travelzoo declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Travelzoo Company Profile

Travelzoo, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an Internet media company that provides travel, entertainment, and local experiences worldwide. It operates in four segments: Travelzoo North America, Travelzoo Europe, Jack's Flight Club, and New Initiatives. The company offers Travelzoo website, Travelzoo Top 20 email newsletters, Standalone email newsletters, Travelzoo Network, Travelzoo mobile applications, Jack's Flight Club website, Jack's Flight Club mobile applications, and Jack's Flight Club newsletters.