Shares of
Expedia Group, Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) are down 2% to trade at $287.20, after Morgan Stanley assumed coverage of the global travel firm with an "underweight" rating and set a price target of $235. While also initiating bullish coverage on sector peers Airbnb (ABNB) and Booking Holdings (BKNG), the analyst sees this competition as impediments to Expedia's growth.
Expedia stock has lost 15.2% since its post-earnings Aug. 24 all-time high of $338.64 and looks poised to snap its four day win streak. Still, EXPE's
year-to-date breakeven level is stepping up today.
Bears have been loading up on the stock prior to today. EXPE sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 3.98 on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits in the 98th percentile of its annual range, hinting at a much healthier-than-usual appetite for bearish bets over bullish of late.
Echoing this, EXPE's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.67 sits in just the 96th percentile of its annual range, suggesting short-term option players have rarely been more call-heavy during the past 12 months.
Options are relatively affordable at the moment too, with Expedia's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 43% stands higher than just 20% of all other readings from the past year.
