Expedia Shares Skyrocket 17% as Analysts Applaud Performance

Shares of Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) soared 17% on Thursday after the online travel agency was met with a wave of upbeat analyst notes and upgrades following impressive quarterly results.

The Bellevue, Wash.-based bookings site said that adjusted earnings per share of $1.43 easily topped average analyst estimates on Wall Street. Bookings were up 15% as the company benefited from increased referrals from TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP).

Applauding the across-the-board beat, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) upgraded Expedia to “buy” from “neutral” and lifted its price target $75, a new Street high for Expedia, according to StreetAccount.

Shares of Expedia were up about 17% to $58.06 in recent trade.

Other price-target increases came from Evercore (NYSE:EVR), Stifel (NYSE:SF) and Susquehanna, which all maintained ratings equivalent to “neutral,” as well as Cantor Fitzgerald and Benchmark, which kept their “buy” ratings on the stock.

Of those who didn’t take the extra step to upgrade Expedia, it seems concerns rested with the fact that the company did not raise its full-year outlook despite the strong quarterly beat.