UPDATE: Mirae Asset Upgrades Ctrip.com; Raises PT

According to a research report published this morning, Mirae Asset has upgraded Ctrip.com CTRP from Hold to Buy, and increased PT from $26 to $28. Mirae Asset said in the report, "We upgrade CTRP to BUY from Hold and raise the TP from US$26 to US$28 based on (1) strong momentum of leisure travel in 1Q12; (2) CTRP's experimentation with multiple transactional models and consumer segments and (3) CTRP's leadership in mobile travel booking. 1Q online travel market revenue grew 20% YoY, rebounding from 4Q11's 10.5% YoY, according to iResearch. Since 4Q11 CTRP has launched several low cost travel alternatives, most successful of which is the Huixuan Hotel (惠选酒店) Program modeled after Hotwire. CTRP's entry to the premium travel segment through the acquisition of TMTravel (太美旅游) is a strategic step to capture Chinese travel demand overseas." Ctrip.com closed Friday at $19.10.