UPDATE: Monness Crespi Hardt Upgrades HomeAway on Multiple Positive Factors

In a report published Thursday, Monness Crespi Hardt analyst Bill Lennan upgraded the rating on

from Sell to Neutral. In the report, Monness Crespi Hardt noted, “We are upgrading AWAY shares to Neutral from Sell because: 1) in the past two quarters we have not seen the degradation in deferred revenue we expected. 2) Management's tone on Pay-per-booking has shifted to positive. On the Q2 (June) conference call, management talked down the Street's PPB expectations; on the Q3 call, management talked up PPB while remaining vague on the financial contribution of the product; 3) weak Q4 guidance was trumped by PPB optimism.” HomeAway closed on Wednesday at $29.09.