UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Reiterates Neutral Rating, Lowers PT on Ctrip.com International

In a report published Monday, Piper Jaffray reiterated its Neutral rating on Ctrip.com International (NASDAQ: CTRP), but lowered its price target from $22.00 to $20.00.Piper Jaffray noted, “Ctrip reports Q4 on 1/31 and based on air traffic & hotel data, we expect Q4 revenue near the mid-point of the 15%-20% y/y guidance and EPS slightly below consensus. The China hotel RevPAR data (through Dec.) suggests slight downside to our Q4 estimates. We expect in-line to modest upside from air & packaged tour to partially cushion hotel weakness and, therefore, expect Q4 top-line growth toward the mid-point of the 15-20% range. Ctrip's aggressive couponing/discounting/marketing continues to pressure margins leading us to model Q4 EPS at $0.09 vs. the Street's $0.13. Based on our conservative expectation for the price war to continue in 2013, we have reduced our 2013 op margin outlook and price target. Remain Neutral with a $20 PT (down from $22) based on 16x our new 2013 non-GAAP estimate of $1.25.”Ctrip.com International closed on Friday at $19.64.