Raymond James Struggles To Understand Why Bears Target Tripadvisor

Jayson Derrick

Fri, Mar 29, 2019, 1:13 PM

In this article:

The bearish case for Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ: TRIP) is difficult to understand, especially with the stock trading at 14 times 2019 estimated EV/EBITDA, according to Raymond James.

The Analyst

Raymond James analyst Justin Patterson maintains a Market Perform rating on Tripadvisor with no price target.

The Thesis

The Street's expectations for the online travel company is "not demanding" but the company's metrics aren't as bad as it seems and the company has some growth prospects, Patterson said in a research report.

The company is seeing a shift in traffic away from "lookers" and more towards "bookers." This is evident in Revenue Per Hotel Shopper falling by 1 percent year over year in 2018. If the platform was attracting poor quality visitors, then monetization should have contracted a lot more than just 1 percent.

Tripadvisor has an opportunity to improve its platform that's under-monetized compared to its peers. The company can consider new ad products, improvements to measurement and attribution, along with engaging advertisers. Management is believed to be in the early stages and updates are likely to be presented throughout the year.

Despite a "struggle" to understand the bear thesis, Patterson said a bullish stance on the stock can't be justified. The travel company continues to face macro-related concerns and is unlikely to see notable upside absent any large upward revisions to estimates.

Price Action

Shares of Tripadvisor were trading higher by 1.1 percent to $51.83 Friday afternoon.

TripAdvisor Announces Mixed Q4 Results, Discouraging 2019 Guidance: 2 Bear Analysts React

Latest Ratings for TRIP

Mar 2019	Cowen & Co.	Downgrades	Market Perform	Underperform
Nov 2018	UBS	Downgrades	Neutral	Sell
Oct 2018	Credit Suisse	Upgrades	Underperform	Neutral

View More Analyst Ratings for TRIP
View the Latest Analyst Ratings

See more from Benzinga

Tesla stock surges as EV maker will 'accelerate' the launch of cheaper cars
Tesla said it would "accelerate" the launch of new models next year, including lower-cost cars, countering reports earlier this month it had scraped those plans.
Yahoo Finance•1h ago
The IRS says it’s going after wealthy tax cheats. Here’s what new audit stats show.
After Congress approved billions of extra funding for tax compliance, the Internal Revenue Service pledged it would get tougher on rich taxpayers and corporations while avoiding extra scrutiny of middle-class households.
MarketWatch•8h ago
Tesla Earnings Fall To Lowest Since 2021. Tesla Stock Surges Late On 'Affordable' EV
Tesla earnings tumbled below lowered expectations. Tesla stock jumped late as the EV giant signaled an affordable EV is still it its plans. Elon Musk looms.
Investor's Business Daily•38m ago
JPMorgan’s ‘Bloody Friday’: Why Several Top Financial Advisors Jumped Ship the Same Day
Six teams managing nearly $15 billion in total assets quit JPMorgan Chase’s brokerage unit to join competitors last Friday. Here’s what may have triggered their departures.
Barrons.com•3h ago
I Was Incredibly Wrong About the Tesla Cybertruck
Unit sales appear considerably below my estimates.
Motley Fool•13h ago
California McDonald's Franchise Owner Says, 'The Focus Is On Survival' With 'Unprecedented' $20 Per Hour Minimum Wage Forcing Higher Prices
In response to California's new $20 minimum wage law, fast food franchises are being forced to rethink their business strategies to stay afloat. Scott Rodrick, who owns 18 McDonald's franchises in the state, is considering measures to manage the increased labor costs without resorting to layoffs, which he sees as a last resort. Don't Miss: 82% of Americans aren’t using this government secured 5% passive income stream, are you one of them? The average American couple has saved this much money for
Benzinga•1d ago
Jamie Dimon is worried the US economy is headed back to the 1970s
JPMorgan's CEO is concerned the US economy could be in for a repeat of the stagflation that hampered the country during the 1970s.
Yahoo Finance•3h ago
Sam Bankman-Fried Agrees to Help FTX Investors Go After Celeb Promoters
Sam Bankman-Fried has inked a settlement agreement with a group of FTX customers who have agreed to drop their class action lawsuit against him in exchange for his help going after celebrity promoters of the collapsed exchange.
CoinDesk•1d ago
It's Time to Ditch These 2 "Magnificent Seven" Stocks and Replace Them With 2 Bona Fide Outperformers
Among Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Tesla, there are two former highfliers that are no longer magnificent.
Motley Fool•2d ago
If You'd Invested $250 in Berkshire Hathaway 5 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today
Berkshire stock produced huge gains for decades. But what about the last five years?
Motley Fool•1d ago

News

Life

Entertainment

Finance

Sports

New on Yahoo

Yahoo Finance

Raymond James Struggles To Understand Why Bears Target Tripadvisor

Recommended Stories

Tesla stock surges as EV maker will 'accelerate' the launch of cheaper cars

The IRS says it’s going after wealthy tax cheats. Here’s what new audit stats show.

Tesla Earnings Fall To Lowest Since 2021. Tesla Stock Surges Late On 'Affordable' EV

JPMorgan’s ‘Bloody Friday’: Why Several Top Financial Advisors Jumped Ship the Same Day

I Was Incredibly Wrong About the Tesla Cybertruck

California McDonald's Franchise Owner Says, 'The Focus Is On Survival' With 'Unprecedented' $20 Per Hour Minimum Wage Forcing Higher Prices

Jamie Dimon is worried the US economy is headed back to the 1970s

Sam Bankman-Fried Agrees to Help FTX Investors Go After Celeb Promoters

It's Time to Ditch These 2 "Magnificent Seven" Stocks and Replace Them With 2 Bona Fide Outperformers

If You'd Invested $250 in Berkshire Hathaway 5 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today