Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) Short Interest Up 23.2% in January

Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) saw a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 185,300 shares, a growth of 23.2% from the December 31st total of 150,400 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 138,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of Travelzoo from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Travelzoo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Ascendiant Capital Markets raised their price objective on Travelzoo from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Azzurro Capital Inc sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.28, for a total transaction of $1,036,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,577,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,102,586.88. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Holger Bartel sold 23,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.73, for a total value of $454,914.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,920. This trade represents a 85.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,557 shares of company stock worth $2,843,940. 57.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TZOO. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Travelzoo during the second quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Travelzoo by 217.4% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 34,453 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 23,599 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Travelzoo by 169.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 127,186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after buying an additional 79,990 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Travelzoo during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Travelzoo during the 3rd quarter valued at $134,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.39% of the company’s stock.

Travelzoo Stock Up 0.4 %

Travelzoo stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.83. 64,905 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 102,770. Travelzoo has a 12-month low of $7.12 and a 12-month high of $22.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.48. The company has a market cap of $233.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 1.71.

Travelzoo declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 23rd that allows the company to repurchase 1,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Travelzoo

Travelzoo, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an Internet media company that provides travel, entertainment, and local experiences worldwide. It operates in four segments: Travelzoo North America, Travelzoo Europe, Jack's Flight Club, and New Initiatives. The company offers Travelzoo website, Travelzoo Top 20 email newsletters, Standalone email newsletters, Travelzoo Network, Travelzoo mobile applications, Jack's Flight Club website, Jack's Flight Club mobile applications, and Jack's Flight Club newsletters.