TripAdvisor (TRIP 1.19%) had a big week -- it was up almost 11%. The online travel research firm was up big early in the week on the news that John Malone's Liberty Interactive (LINTA +0.00%) purchased Barry Diller's nearly 5 million shares at a premium price. Liberty now has a controlling stake in the company. The company faces challenges in the near term relating to the fiscal cliff, and I'm not sure about the impact of this news over the long run. I do like this company's prospects going forward, however. It houses user-generated reviews, and then sells ads to online travel agents like Expedia (EXPE 1.10%) and Priceline (PCLN 1.41%). It's also been forging a nice partnership with Facebook (FB +0.83%).
It's had a volatile year, but I really like it for the long term. Competition from Google (GOOG 1.67%) is one potential risk to look out for in the future.
