Online Travel Stocks Outperforming; Deutsche Bank Suggests Expedia Stole Back Top Spot from Tripadvisor

Shares of Expedia

are leading the online travel sector higher Tuesday afternoon, now up 2.5 percent on very heavy volume. With about three hours left in the trading session, more than 6 million shares of Expedia have already traded hands. Normal daily volume for Expedia is usually just over 4 million shares. Deutsche Bank's Ross Sandler issued a research note this morning suggesting Expedia has won back the top spot from Tripadvisor

. The analyst cited recent proprietary data. Sandler believes Tripadvisor's shift toward a meta search has caused instability within the company. Sandler maintains a Buy rating and $66 price target on shares of Expedia. With the stock last trading at $50.97, Sandler's price target implies potential upside of about 29 percent.