Chicago’s Orbitz rises after Jefferies raises price target

Orbitz Worldwide Inc., an online travel agent, rose the most in more than two months in New York trading after Jefferies & Co. raised its price target and 2012 earnings estimate.

Orbitz rose 12 percent to $3.46 at the close, for the biggest one-day jump since Dec. 6. The shares have fallen 3.6 percent in the past 12 months.

Naved Khan, a Jefferies analyst in New York, raised the estimate to 32 cents a share, from 20 cents, he said in a note dated Thursday. He lifted his price target to $3.60, from $3, saying he was “encouraged by signs of progress towards better top line growth/profitability.”

The analyst didn’t change his “hold” rating on Orbitz, saying the Chicago-based company faces risks of slower growth in air and vacation packages as fares rise, as well as “intense competition.” He also cited “weakness” at HotelClub, an operation based in Australia.

Tracy Young, an analyst at Evercore Partners Inc. in New York, raised her target price on Orbitz to $2.50 from $2 on Feb. 17, while continuing to rate the shares “underweight.” On the same day, Brian Nowak, an analyst at Nomura Securities International in New York, raised his target to $3.25 from $2.50, while keeping a “neutral” opinion.

“Positive trends in travel have people saying, maybe the analysts have been too conservative,” Young said in a telephone interview today.

Smith Travel Research Inc., a market-research company based in Hendersonville, Tennessee, reported on Feb. 22 that U.S. and European hotel-occupancy rates, daily prices measured in dollars, and revenue per available room all increased in January.