Expedia Stock Gets a New Buy Rating. What's Behind the Call. -- Barrons.com

Dow Jones12-19

By Emily Dattilo

Expedia Group stock is a Buy thanks to improving travel trends, BofA Securities said on Wednesday.

Analysts Justin Post and Harvey Qin upgraded shares of the online travel agency to Buy from Neutral and increased their price target to $221 from $187. Expedia stock gained 2.1% to $184.42 in late morning trading.

BofA offered a list of reasons for the upgrade including aggregated credit and debit card data that indicate early signs of bettering trends for U.S. travel, a lower bar for estimates in 2025, and a new chief executive officer, among other positives.

"Ariane Gorin became Expedia's CEO in May 2024, an elevation in roles from leading Expedia's higher-growth B2B business," analysts wrote. "She is rebuilding the management team, announcing a new CTO on the 3Q earnings call, and a CFO transition in 1H'25."

Elsewhere in the travel realm, the analysts raised their price target on Booking Holdings to $5,522 from $4,850 and reiterated a Neutral rating, citing cost-cutting initiatives announced in a recent securities filing.

The analysts also increased their price target on Airbnb to $159 from $154 and maintained a Neutral rating.

Booking stock fell 0.8% to $5,115.19, while Airbnb shares dropped 0.8% to $131.12.

Write to Emily Dattilo at emily.dattilo@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

 

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December 18, 2024 12:13 ET (17:13 GMT)

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