Cantor: Keep Buying Expedia, Investors

In a report published Thursday, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Naved Khan maintained a Buy rating on

, with a price target of $120, after checks indicated that 2Q was "shaping well." Checks suggest that hotel room rates across the US as well as Europe have continued their y/y growth in 2Q. "Our tracking of hotel prices in Europe shows that euro-denominated hotel room prices rose ~16% Y/Y in 2Q vs. ~7% in 1Q:15 and ~4% in 4Q:14, reflecting strong demand for European destinations, fueled by local travelers and inflow of foreign tourists," Analyst Naved Khan said. Khan expects the results to be negatively impacted by the Y/Y decline in euro-USD. In April-May, US hotel occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) continue to move upward, rising around 1.4 percent and 4.8 percent Y/Y, respectively, as compared to 3.1 percent and 4.7 percent in 1Q. Paid-clicks and mobile visitation for Expedia.com, Hotels.com and Trivago also seem to have recorded good growth during April and May. There has been robust growth in US mobile visitation for brands Expedia, Hotels.com and Trivago, with total mobile visits in April-May rising 67 percent, 53 percent and 156 percent Y/Y, respectively, Khan quoted comScore as saying. "While 2Q tends to be back-end weighted, if sustained, we would view these trends positively for 2Q performance," Cantor Fitzgerald noted in its report.