Numerous leisure and travel-related stocks have enjoyed a steep uptrend over the past several years, as consumer confidence has strengthened greatly in the aftermath of the financial crisis. In that vein, the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris did little to impede global travel, while nonetheless representing a terrible reminder of what travelers could face when booking trips to distant locales. Nonetheless, the U.S travel industry is anticipated to continue its growth cycle in 2016, thanks to the still-improving labor market. The national unemployment rate continues to trend downward, recently reaching a multi-year low of 4.9%. The fast-mounting worries about the global economy overall and the strengthening of the U.S dollar might represent are some short-term challenges faced by international travelers, but the medium- and long-term picture of the travel industry looks quite bright given millennials’ steadily-increasing demand for travel. Having said that, this article will discuss the smart money sentiment towards one travel stock, Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE).
Is Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) ready to rally soon? Hedge funds are becoming more confident of this scenario. The number of long hedge fund positions moved up by 11 in recent months. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN), Vale SA (ADR) (NYSE:VALE), and Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE:ETP) to gather more data points.
Follow Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)
Follow Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit there are tons of metrics investors use to size up stocks. Two of the most under-the-radar metrics are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can trounce the broader indices by a superb amount (see the details here).
The online travel company has been very successful in growing its business over the past several years through an expansion of its portfolio of travel brands, which includes Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, to name just a few. Although Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) is one of the largest online travel companies in the world, its gross bookings account for only 4% of worldwide travel spending. Fresh statistics reveal that global travel spending stood at $1.3 trillion in 2015 and that the portion of bookings made through online channels has been trending up over the past few years. Considering the strong shift towards online bookings, Expedia appears to be in a strong position to grow its business in the upcoming years. One important feature of Expedia’s operations is that each of its technology platforms is operated by separate technology teams, which drives innovation, despite the fact that these technology teams and platforms are competing with each other in one way or another.
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a peek at the new action surrounding Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE), as well as discuss the company’s recent financial performance.
