Rumors that Norwalk-based Priceline Group Inc. is planning to acquire TripAdvisor Inc. is being credited for giving the latter”™s stock a 2.54 percent bump on Thursday, closing at $42.42 per share.
Investment sites including Zacks.com and Benzinga gave sole credit for TripAdvisor’s stock performance to unconfirmed reports that the companies are in conversation regarding a union. Talk about Priceline taking over TripAdvisor, headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, Â has become somewhat long in the tooth ”“ Bloomberg speculated on a potential transaction back in February 2015. But, in this case, old news was good news for TripAdvisor, if only for a day: the financial website InvestorPlace noted that the company”™s shares have plummeted by more than 60 percent since hitting a peak in 2014, which includes a 31 percent drop in the past year and an 8 percent year-to-date downfall.
However, the gossip-fueled talk did little to help Priceline”™s shares. According to CNN Money, the company’s shares dipped yesterday by 0.21 percent to close at $1,748 per share.
It is funny but I expect a takeover of Priceline soon. It has fallen 12% in the last five weeks and would not be surprised to see Google take it over for 2250 to 2350 a share.