Instant Book Will Create Stronger Long-Term Economics For TripAdvisor, Piper Jaffray Says

Shares of Tripadvisor Inc TRIP have traded up more than 4.5 percent Monday. While news on the company has been sparse, some traders have attributed the upside to earlier positive comments from a Piper Jaffray analyst.

In a morning research note, the firm's Michael Olson reiterated an Overweight rating and $95 price target on Tripadvisor shares. The reiteration followed a recent meeting with company management.

"While the roll-out of Instant Book has not been an easy transition for the company (or investors) so far, we continue to believe that Instant Book will lead to a higher hotel shopper monetization rate and create stronger long-term economics for the company," Olson said.

The Piper analyst highlighted four phases of Instant Book, and said phase three is "underway." Phase three, according to Olson, "involves enticing users to book on IB; tactics being used for this include adjusting how IB is presented to users to optimize conversion, as well as discounts on tour/attraction bookings for users booking on IB and giveaways (free trips, etc). The fourth and final phase of IB will involve establishing the TripAdvisor brand as a preferred booking site."

As shares of Tripadvisor last traded at $71.43, Olson's reiterated price target represents potential upside of about 33 percent.