Tag Archives: expe

Five Top Picks In The Internet Sector With Strongest Fundamentals

The companies with the best fundamentals among large-cap Internet stocks are Facebook ( FB ), Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Netflix ( NFLX ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Priceline ( PCLN ), says RBC Capital Markets. Internet trends for these top five in their respective sectors — online advertising, retail and travel — remain very consistent, with strong revenue growth year over year, RBC said in a research report. Online advertising seems to be flowing en mass to Google-owner Alphabet and Facebook, with the two now accounting for close to 55% of global online advertising revenue, up from 50% three years ago, says the report from RBC analyst Mark Mahaney. And Amazon continues to show dramatically greater-than-average growth in the online retail sector. “We believe online retail demand trends have remained solid, particularly highlighted by Amazon’s retail sales acceleration,” Mahaney wrote. But, he said, “there’s little ad oxygen for the likes of Yahoo ( YHOO ).” Online travel remains a duopoly of Priceline and Expedia ( EXPE ), while it’s increasingly hard to see anyone catching up to Netflix in terms of video-streaming subscribers, he wrote. Though shares of Netflix have continued to decline following Q1’s weak international sub guidance and domestic price change worries, “We view the fundamental global subscriber growth story as intact,” Mahaney said. Mahaney has a price target on Netflix of 140. Netflix stock was trading near 89, up nearly 2%, in afternoon trading in the stock market today . The stock is down 20% since reporting first-quarter earnings on April 18, and it’s on the IBD Swing Trader list as a potential short-sale opportunity. He has a price target on Priceline of 1,600, as growth and profitability trends remain intact. Priceline stock was up a fraction near 1,279 Monday afternoon. Priceline is down 6% since reporting Q1 earnings on May 4. On Alphabet, Mahaney’s price target is 1,000, as it remains one of the best portfolio plays on the biggest Internet trends. Alphabet stock was near 727, up a fraction, Monday afternoon. The stock is down 7% since reporting Q1 earnings on April 21. On Facebook, the price target is 165, with Mahaney saying the social media company is firing on all cylinders. Facebook stock was near 118, down 1%, but it’s up 8% since reporting Q1 earnings on April 27. The price target on Amazon is 800. Amazon stock was flat, near 709. Still, it’s up 16% since reporting Q1 earnings on April 28. It also is on Swing Trader, but as a long possibility.

Priceline Q2 View Yanks Partner TripAdvisor Ahead Of Q1 Earnings

Priceline ‘s ( PCLN ) Q2 guidance miss following its CEO’s unexpected resignation weighed on travel stocks Wednesday, tugging shares of partner TripAdvisor ( TRIP ) ahead of the smaller agency’s Q1 earnings report, slated for late Thursday. In afternoon trading on the stock market today , IBD’s 11-company Leisure-Travel Booking industry group was down 8.5% and hit a two-month low, led by a 9% dip in Priceline stock . Shares of TripAdvisor and Expedia ( EXPE ) were down nearly 4% and 2%, respectively. TripAdvisor is the third in the trio to report Q1 earnings. Expedia’s blow-out Q1 report drove the group up 1.6% last Friday. For Q1, the consensus of 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expects TripAdvisor to report $370.5 million in sales and 46 cents earnings per share minus items, up 2% and down 15%, respectively, vs. the year-earlier quarter. On a year-over-year basis, it would be the second time in four quarters Tripadvisor’s EPS has fallen and the biggest EPS decline since December 2013. Sales would decelerate for the sixth consecutive quarter. The consensus models $110.16 million earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), down 13% vs. $127 million in the year-earlier period. TripAdvisor didn’t provide guidance during its February Q4 earnings report, noting it would no longer offer an annual sales and EBITDA outlook. Though, CFO Ernst Teunissen cautioned that instant booking would likely continue to dilute near-term results. TripAdvisor and Priceline last year inked a partnership where some of Priceline’s online travel brands participate in TripAdvisor’s instant booking platform.

Priceline Tops Q1 Views, But Stock Collapses On Guidance Miss

Priceline ( PCLN ) stock tanked early Wednesday after the No. 1 online travel agency reported Q1 metrics that topped Wall Street estimates but offered current-quarter guidance that missed the consensus and would mark a year-over-year drop in net income. In morning trading in the stock market today , Priceline shares were down nearly 11% after the firm reported its earnings before the open. Shares of top rival Expedia ( EXPE ) were down nearly 2% Wednesday morning. Priceline reported $10.54 earnings per share minus items on $2.15 billion in sales and $676 million earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). On a year-over-year basis, the three measures rose a respective 30%, 17% and 27%. The consensus of 30 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters modeled $2.12 billion in sales, $9.65 EPS minus items and $620.6 million EBITDA. Room-night stays rose 31% vs. the year-earlier quarter, trailing Expedia’s Q1 growth of 37%. Gross bookings of $16.65 billion grew 21% year over year vs. 32% growth at Expedia. Rental car days grew 11%, but airline tickets fell 7%, Priceline said. “The Priceline Group delivered strong top-line growth and attractive margins in the first quarter,” Chairman and interim CEO Jeffery Boyd said in a statement. “Growth in room-night reservations of 31% reflects continued solid execution in the market for global travel.” Boyd took over last week when Priceline’s board forced the sudden resignation of CEO Darren Huston after an internal investigation into an inappropriate relationship with an employee. Priceline, however, provided current-quarter guidance that lagged views, and Priceline expects EPS and EBITDA to fall on a year-over-year basis — a first for its EPS. Priceline also guided to growth of 15%-22% for room-night stays and 11%-18% for gross bookings vs. the year-earlier quarter, slowing sequentially. For Q2, Priceline sees $11.60-$12.50 EPS ex items and $740 million to $795 million EBITDA, down 3% and 5%, respectively, at the midpoints. The firm guided to 7%-14% year-over-year sales growth (about $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion). The consensus modeled $2.66 billion in sales, $14.98 EPS ex items and $948.1 million EBITDA. Last week Expedia reported strong first-quarter results, including booming gross bookings and room-night stays, sending its  stock up 8% the following day. But Expedia did not provide Q2 guidance.