“As an independent company with a recognized global Internet brand, we will be competing for the future of content, communications and advertising and that is a very exciting and significant opportunity,” CEO Tim Armstrong enthused in a statement this morning.

Sadly, investors didn’t quite see it that way. AOL’s (AOL) shares dipped around 2.5 percent in morning trading, rose a bit in the afternoon and then finished the day in the red at $23.52.

That said, the share price has risen a bit after hours, though it’s anyone’s guess if that trend will continue on Friday. As UBS analysts Brian Pitz and Brian Fitzgerald said in a research note today, it’s likely to be a while before AOL wins investor confidence.

“We believe AOL is in the early stages of a turnaround and though we like management’s vision for the aspects of the business it can control (advertising), we expect the strategy to take at least a year before it begins to translate into sustained positive user and advertiser metrics,” the analysts wrote. “In the short term, we expect shares to trade down due to technical issues.”

• Orbitz: Target to $5, from $8. EPS estimate for 2008 to loss of 17 cents from loss of 15 cents; 2009 to loss of seven cents from positive 19 cents.
• Expedia: Target to $19, from $30; 2008 to $1.38 from $1.40; 2009 to $1.42, from $1.59.
• Priceline: Target to $90, from $154; 2008 to $5.43, from $5.75; 2009 to $5.80, from $7.15.

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