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Wall Street not supporting Expedia’s shopping trip to Italy

July 16, 2008 | Online Travel

Expedia has fallen on tough times in 2008. The stock's intermediate-term uptrend fizzled out last fall, and the shares have now shed 48% from their October 2007 peak at $35. What's more, Goldman Sachs slashed its price target further, as a result of Expedia's announcement to acquire Venere.com.

Online travel firm Expedia has fallen on tough times in 2008. The stock’s intermediate-term uptrend fizzled out last fall, and the shares have now shed 48% from their October 2007 peak at $35. Year-to-date, the equity’s deficit stands at more than 42%.

Even more troubling, the stock’s average 12-month price target is $29.45, according to Thomson Financial. This represents a rather lofty premium of 62% to EXPE’s closing price on Monday. Any downward revisions to this consensus forecast could prompt a new wave of bears to jump on the equity’s bandwagon.

In fact, earlier today, Goldman Sachs slashed its price target on EXPE from $26 to $20. As a result of this bearish move – and EXPE’s announcement that it will shell out an undisclosed amount to acquire Venere Net ApA – the stock is down about 3.5% at last check, writes Schaeffers Research.

Get the full story at Schaeffers Research

Related: Expedia acquires Venere.com

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