Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Short Interest Up 12.8% in December

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,850,000 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the November 30th total of 4,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Expedia Group from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.77.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

EXPE traded down $0.16 on Wednesday, hitting $186.33. 1,067,627 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,061,318. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.74 and a 200-day moving average of $151.00. Expedia Group has a 12-month low of $107.25 and a 12-month high of $192.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 198,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,811,480.90. This trade represents a 4.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total transaction of $1,273,930.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,035,922.13. The trade was a 38.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock valued at $4,695,610. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 11,367 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. GHE LLC raised its position in Expedia Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. GHE LLC now owns 6,689 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 7.1% in the second quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Expedia Group

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.