What Analysts Like About Priceline After Earnings

Priceline Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) reported its fourth-quarter financial results in the middle of the week and practically received a standing ovation from investors. Over the course of this past week alone, this stock has skyrocketed roughly 20%. At this point analysts had no choice but to raise their price targets to account for these awesome earnings.

The company had $12.63 in earnings per share (EPS) on $2.00 billion in revenue, which compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $11.80 in EPS on revenue of $1.96 billion. In the same period of the previous year, it posted EPS of $10.85 and $1.84 billion in revenue.

Fourth-quarter gross travel bookings totaled $12.0 billion, an increase of 13% over a year ago, and an increase of roughly 24% on a constant currency basis.

In terms of guidance for the first quarter, Priceline expects to see EPS in the range of $9.00 to $9.60 and an increase in revenue of roughly 9% to 16% year over year. The consensus estimates call for $9.61 in EPS on $2.07 billion in revenue (the same period from last year had $1.84 billion in revenue).
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Merrill Lynch said in its report that Priceline had a solid fourth quarter, highlighted by revenue and EPS upside despite the negative Paris impact. The company had an industry leading 27% organic room night growth. It raised2017 EPS by roughly 10%, increasing the price objective to $1,470, based on an unchanged 18-times multiple from 2017 EPS. Macro concerns have created opportunity to own stock at mid-teens forward EPS multiples versus over 20% gross profit growth. The brokerage firm has a Buy rating for Priceline.

Other analysts had this to say after earnings:

• Cowen has an Outperform rating and raised its price target to $1,360 from $1,290.
• Barclays has an Equal Weight rating and raised its price target to $1,340 from $1,300.
• Deutsche Bank has a Hold rating and raised its price target to $1,350 from $1,333.
• JMP Securities has an Outperform rating and raised the price target to $1,500 from $1,475.
• Oppenheimer has an Outperform rating and raised its price target to $1,460 from $1,300.
• UBS has a Buy rating and raised the price target to $1,525 from $1,490.

Shares of Priceline ended last week at $1283.74, with a consensus analyst price target of $1450.83 and a 52-week trading range of $954.02 to $1476.52.