Business and vacation travel is poised to rise as Covid recedes. Travel companies like Expedia Group could get a big boost. In fact, just since a Dec. 22 low at 82.39, Expedia stock has shot up 44%, to above 119 Tuesday afternoon. As a result, on Tuesday Expedia's Relative Strength (RS) Rating climbed to 73, up from 65. Expedia is slated to report Q4 results on Thursday.
The 73 rating shows that Expedia stock is outperforming 73% of all stocks when it comes to price appreciation. It's a welcome move that puts the Chicago-area company's stock within range of the threshold for the best stocks to buy and watch. Market research shows that top-performing stocks often have an 80 or higher RS Rating when they begin their biggest upward drives.
Expedia Stock About To Make A Golden Cross?
Expedia stock's daily chart shows that its 50-day average line crossed below its long-term 200-day line back in May 2022. It stayed inverted for the rest of the year amid the bear market. Recently though, the 50-day has been rising and it's near crossing above the 200-day, a bullish move called the golden cross. Watch for that to happen; it could be a signal Expedia stock is ready to run higher.
Looking For The Best Stocks To Buy And Watch? Start Here
Tuesday morning Expedia stock fell along with the market ahead of Fed chief Jerome Powell's speech. In the afternoon Expedia reversed and traded at 119. While Expedia is not near an ideal buy point, see if it manages to form and break out of a proper chart pattern such as a three-weeks-tight.
Among its other ratings Expedia stock has an 88 Composite Rating, and a 66 Earnings Per Share Rating. Its B Accumulation/Distribution Rating, on an A+ to E scale, shows that funds like ETFs and mutual funds are fairly heavy buyers.
Sales Growth Strong, Earnings Mixed
Last quarter Expedia's earnings rose 15% on a year-over-year basis to $4.05 on a 22% rise in revenue to $3.62 billion. The travel company's revenue growth has been in double digits every quarter this past year ranging up to 148%.
Its EPS growth has been less stable. It posted a 47-cent loss in Q1 2022, improved from a $2.02 loss the year before. Then in the June 2022-ended quarter its earnings rose and it recorded a 273% leap in EPS. The company says on its website it will report its latest numbers Thursday after the market close.
SPECIAL REPORT: Best Online Brokers 2023
Expedia stock earns the No. 2 rank among its peers in the Leisure-Travel Booking industry group. It's second only to Booking Holdings. Airbnb is also among the group's highest-rated stocks. The group as a whole ranks a strong No. 25 on IBD's list of 197 industries.
Investor's Business Daily's unique Relative Strength Rating tracks technical performance by using a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score that identifies how a stock's price performance over the trailing 52 weeks compares to the rest of the market.
Please follow James DeTar on Twitter @JimDeTar