Expedia price target raised to $130 from $110 at Mizuho

Mizuho raised the firm’s price target on Expedia to $130 from $110 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. In 2024, the analyst sees a “meaningful divergence of consumer confidence levels” between U.S. and China internet sectors. In the U.S., the firm expects moderated inflation and a tight labor market to keep consumer spending resilient, benefiting categories leaders across segments such as advertising, e-commerce and gig economy services that are likely to gain share and drive margin expansion. In China, it looks for consumer spending to remain subdued despite having a record high savings rate due to ongoing real-estate issues and rising unemployment. Mizuho recommends investors to “play offense” in U.S. internet, choosing companies with upside to estimates plus long-term optionality. Its top U.S. picks are Amazon (AMZN) and DoorDash (DASH). For China internet, the analyst recommends to “play defense,” looking for fundamentals that have yet to fully recover from COVID lockdowns. Its top pick is Trip.com Group (TCOM).