Tripadvisor Inc
Investment decisions will increasingly depend on the prospects for 2024, according to Bernstein.
The Online Travel Analyst: Richard Clarke said in a note to clients that global travel demand is likely to grow, as Asia continues to recover and high-end consumers continue to spend, while limited hotel supply growth will preserve pricing power.
"Key surprise from Q3 reporting was not the resilience of the consumer but the resilience of the travel investor," he added.
TripAdvisor: Clarke upgraded the rating for TripAdvisor from Market Perform to Outperform, while lifting the price target from $14.80 to $21.40.
"Our key concern on TripAdvisor was that meta-search would be a material deleveraging drag on the business, and it would be a race against time to fund the growth of Viator," Clarke said in a note.
He added the company's performance in the third quarter changed that view, with metasearch's decline being offset by strength in display marketing and a B2B management's plan "to make more money from more sources is working."
Booking Holdings: Clarke upgraded the rating for Booking Holdings from Underperform to Market Perform, while raising the price target from $2,600 to $2,940.
"Our previous bearish thesis was based on a shift in business model/margin profile in response to competitive pressures in hotel distribution," the analyst wrote.
"Margin expectations for FY25 have come down 660bps since 2020; however, such has been the strength of leisure demand, pricing and share buybacks that FY25 EPS estimates are up 25% in the same time," he further stated.
Airbnb: The analyst maintained an Outperform rating for Airbnb, while reducing the price target from $168 to $163.
Airbnb continued to be the top pick, Clarke said. He expected the company to deliver a strong performance in 2024, with accelerating top-line growth "as pricing tools and global efforts take hold."
TRIP, BKNG, ABNB Price Action: Tripadvisor shares are down 0.58% at $17.29, Booking Holdings is up 1.97% at $3,134.65; and Airbnb is up 0.41% at $118.64, Monday at publication.
