UPDATE: Raymond James Upgrades Expedia, Inc.

Following Expedia's EXPE second quarter earnings report Thursday evening, Raymond James analyst, Aaron Kessler today upgraded shares of Expedia from Market Perform to Outperform and established a $100 price target. As reasons for the upgrade, Kessler cited:

• Continued "soiid " room night growth
• Expected margin expansion and leverage across COGS, technology, and G&A
• Additional focus on increasing hotel supply and geographic expansion is expected to drive "solid" long-term revenue growth
• Attractive valuation

In conjunction with the upgrade, Kessler has increased his 2014 and '15 non-GAAP EPS estimate from $3.83 and $4.49 to $4.03 and $4.77, respectively. Following the upgrade shares of Expedia have traded up ~2.6 percent in Friday's pre-market.