Citi raised its price target for Trip.com Group (TCOM) to $55 from $53 per share, opening up a 90-day positive catalyst watch on the stock. The firm also reiterated a Buy rating on the company's shares.
The firm provided two factors for its view, stating the decent travel momentum is likely to sustain during the two upcoming holidays, especially for the five-day Labour Day holiday "when outbound travel could further recover."
Analysts also see the company reporting a "decent 1Q24 result," which they believe is likely to be in the middle of May, with a "potential beat since consensus might underestimate decent outbound and international as well as margin improvement."
"Also, we think investors could turn more constructive ahead of the upcoming results given TCOM's solid results track record," added the firm.
Furthermore, Citi sees fundamentals remaining solid thanks to a resilient domestic and outbound travel outlook, with TCOM's outperformance over the industry.
"Its international platform, Trip.com, is now more viewed as a [long-term] structural story and a key growth driver ahead," added Citi. "We raise 2025/26E earnings estimates by 2% on stronger outlook for Trip.com."