Priceline.com

The Zacks Rank Buys featured in this article are: Priceline.com, Inc. (PCLN - Analyst Report), The Gap, Inc. (GPS - Analyst Report), TD AMERITRADE Holdings Corp. (AMTD - Snapshot Report), Knology, Inc. (KNOL - Snapshot Report), and The Princeton Review, Inc. (REVU - Snapshot Report).

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Priceline.com, Inc. (PCLN - Analyst Report) beat Wall Street's expectations on May 11th. Earnings estimates and shares are on the rise.

Company Description

Priceline.com Incorporated is a web-based discount travel service. The company allows customers to choose their own prices on air fare, hotels, and other vacation related services. Priceline.com gives providers of the aforementioned services incremental income by booking vacancies that may have otherwise gone unfilled.

Another Surprise

On May 11 Priceline.com released first quarter results that beat analysts' expectations for the third time in a row. The company generated $462 million in revenues, a 15% jump since last year.

Net income was 83 cents, while analysts were expecting just 73 cents. This 18% surprise was the third consecutive surprise.

CEO Speaks

"We are pleased with the results achieved by Priceline.com in the 1st quarter 2009", said Priceline.com President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffery H. Boyd. "Despite worldwide recessionary conditions, which continued to adversely impact overall travel demand and pricing, Priceline.com continued to gain market share, with hotel room nights up 36%, rental car days up 15% and airline ticket sales up 28%. Priceline.com also showed improved gross and operating margins in the quarter."

Estimates Rising

Since the report the consensus estimate for 2009 is up 40 cents to $5.85. The average forecast for next year is up 60 cents to $6.04. These projections represent year-over-year growth of 15% and 14%, respectively.

The Chart

Shares of PCLN are up about 4 times more than the market over the past 4 months.

Read the March 19th Feature Here

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