Nomura Securities Maintains a 'Neutral' on Expedia (EXPE); Q1 Preview

Nomura Securities maintains a 'Neutral' on Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) price target lowered from $38 to $37.

Analyst, Brian Nowak, said, "EXPE has underperformed the S&P 500 by ~850bp since 4Q:11 earnings (on 2/9/12) and is roughly in line with the market year-to-date. We believe EXPE must deliver on its 2012 guidance (mid-single-digit adjusted EBITDA growth) and likely generate positive earnings revisions for the stock to outperform. Our cross-visit analysis shows that Expedia.com’s competition and threat of commoditization continues growing. It is hard to see how Expedia.com can generate a substantial increase in conversion, unless it can develop a stickier customer base. Expedia will report 1Q results on Thursday, April 26. We expect adjusted EBITDA of $84mn, roughly flat year-on-year and in line with the Street. Our 2012E/2013E EPS goes from $2.71/$3.23 to $2.85/$3.62."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Expedia click here. For more ratings news on Expedia click here.

Shares of Expedia closed at $31.94 yesterday.

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