Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) Short Interest Update

Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) was the target of 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. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 138,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Holger Bartel sold 23,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.73, for a total transaction of $454,914.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,920. This trade represents a 85.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Azzurro Capital Inc sold 52,500 shares of Travelzoo stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.29, for a total transaction of $960,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,492,696 shares in the company, valued at $82,171,409.84. The trade was a 1.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,557 shares of company stock worth $2,843,940 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 57.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TZOO. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Travelzoo during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Travelzoo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Travelzoo during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in Travelzoo during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Travelzoo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $173,000. 27.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on TZOO. StockNews.com lowered Travelzoo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Ascendiant Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Travelzoo from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their price objective on shares of Travelzoo from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Travelzoo Price Performance

Travelzoo stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.61. The company had a trading volume of 44,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,674. Travelzoo has a one year low of $7.12 and a one year high of $22.44. The firm has a market cap of $231.34 million, a PE ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.09 and a 200 day moving average of $15.48.

Travelzoo announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 23rd that permits the company to repurchase 1,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.