What: January was a bad month for the online travel industry and it was no different for Expedia Inc. . The perceived slowdown in the global economy and analyst downgrades pushed Expedia shares down over the course of the first two weeks of January along with the broader market.
So what: After jumping 46% in 2015, the initial sell-off may be a sign that the market believes the stock was overbought.
Several times throughout the month Expedia's price target was lowered. On Jan. 15, Evercore ISI dropped its price target from $155 to $129, and Expedia dropped on a downgrade for rival Priceline.com earlier in the month as Raymond James cited competition from Airbnb and hotel consolidation as factors that could impede the online travel agents' growth.
Toward the end of the month, Expedia fell again as Goldman Sachs downgraded Priceline and TripAdvisor and lowered its price target on Expedia all the way to $93 from $135. Goldman cited concerns about Airbnb as well. DeutscheBank also issued a bearish note on the online travel industry, mentioning fears of terrorism following November's Paris attacks.
Both banks also noted the threat of hotel industry consolidation, which is expected to give the major hotel companies greater leverage against the OTAs.
Now what: Wall Street appears to be turning its back on the online travel industry, citing competitive threats and macroeconomic factors, but there's good reason to believe in the long-term growth of the industry. Priceline and Expedia have eliminated competitors, helping to boost profit margins, and the travel industry should continue to grow as consumers in the developing world enter the middle class and the global economy expands.
Even Airbnb offers a way to encourage travel by providing an alternative to hotels, and low oil prices have also put more money in travelers' pockets and made airfares cheaper. Expedia shares are now down nearly a third from their all-time high just a few months ago, but analysts are expecting EPS to grow by more than 40% this year. If Expedia can deliver on that expectation, shares should bounce back.
The next billion-dollar iSecret
The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something at its recent event, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here .
The article Why Expedia Inc. Shares Lost 19% in January originally appeared on Fool.com.
Jeremy Bowman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Priceline Group and TripAdvisor. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
