Online travel: D.A. Davidson, Wedbush initiate coverage

trivago NV

04/04/2018 15:27

** Shares of online travel cos dipped early Wed after D.A.
Davidson, Wedbush initiate coverage
    ** Shares of Booking Holdings Inc  BKNG.O , Expedia Group
Inc  EXPE.O , TripAdvisor Inc  TRIP.O , and Trivago NV  TRVG.O 
were down from 1.7 pct to 6.3 pct before paring losses; TRIP
stock currently in positive territory
    ** TRIP, TRVG given "neutral" recommendation by both brokers
    ** BKNG rated "neutral" by D.A. Davidson, but "outperform"
by Wedbush
    ** D.A. Davidson starts EXPE with "buy," but Wedbush is
"neutral" 
    ** Wedbush lead analyst James Hardiman calls the online
travel industry "an envious place to be," with strong underlying
momentum, growth prospects; calls BKNG (formerly The Priceline
Group) the best-run co in the space
    ** Meanwhile, D.A. Davidson's Tom White believes EXPE's CEO
Mark Okerstrom has set the stage for outperformance in 2H 2018
and into 2019, calls property additions a "key priority"
    ** With today's moves, BKNG and TRIP have both advanced ~16
pct YTD, while EXPE and TRVG have declined ~11.5 pct and ~6.4
pct, respectively

 (Reporting by Stephen Culp)
 ((stephen.culp@thomsonreuters.com; 646-223-6076;))