UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Initiates Neutral, $30 PT on TripAdvisor

Piper Jaffray initiates its coverage on TripAdvisor

with a Neutral rating and a price target of $30 a share as 2012 looks to be a no-growth transition year. Piper Jaffray says, "TripAdvisor reported Q4 results on 2/8 and the negative reaction was based on guidance below expectations resulting from the company investing in multiple LT growth initiatives. We expect these, and other, investments are necessary to sustain multi-year growth returning to a >20% rate beginning in 2013, but they create a transition year in 2012. We expect the company will focus its increasing investment on intl expansion (intl was 48% of revenue in Q4), improvements in social/mobile monetization, and other peripheral emerging categories. Short-term oriented investors may not be rewarded for the increasing level of investment, but LT (12-18 month) investors may benefit as investment translates into growth." TRIP closed at $27.63 a share yesterday.