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Fly News Breaks for May 22, 2019
EXPE
May 22, 2019 | 09:16 EDT
As previously reported, Argus analyst John Staszak downgraded Expedia to Hold after its "mixed" Q1 results that showed bookings growth at the company's Vrbo unit slowing to "just 5%" from 46% in Q1 of last year. The analyst expects that growth rate to remain "modest" and also warns that the company's core lodging business will be constrained by rising spending on marketing and technology upgrades. Based on Expedia's prospects of "decelerating growth", Staszak believes that the current 17.3-times his expected 2019 earnings valuation "adequately" reflects its prospects even though that multiple is near the bottom of the company's 17- to 36-times historical range.