Scalper1 News
A week after its CEO Darren Huston tendered his resignation over an inappropriate-at-work relationship, No. 1 online travel agency Priceline ( PCLN ) is expected Wednesday to report double-digit Q1 sales and earnings growth. The consensus of 30 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, however, doesn’t foresee Priceline surpassing the growth rate for No. 2 Expedia ( EXPE ), which last week reported respective year-over-year gains of 39% and 31% for sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). Priceline’s Q1 earnings are slated to come out before the open Wednesday. In afternoon trading on the stock market today , Priceline stock was down a fraction, near 1,347. Expedia stock was down more than 1%. Priceline stock broke out of a cup-with-handle base at a 1,361.73 buy point on April 18. Priceline is expected to report $2.12 billion in sales, $9.65 earnings per share minus items and $620.6 million EBITDA, up 15%, 19% and 17%, respectively vs. the year-earlier period. Three months ago, Priceline guided to $9-$9.60 EPS ex items and $580 million to $620 million EBITDA. Sales were guided up 9%-16% vs. the year-earlier quarter, or about $2 billion to $2.13 billion. On a year-over-year basis, Priceline expects room-night stays booked and gross bookings to grow 20%-27% and 12%-19%, respectively. Last week, Expedia reported Q1 room-night stays and gross bookings rising a respective 42% and 32%. Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson reiterated his overweight rating and 1,540 price target last week on Priceline stock. Huston’s resignation isn’t “a risk to near-term financials, but it does pose a slight risk of distraction for employees of the company’s Booking.com segment, as well as investors,” he wrote in a research report. Gillian Tans, chief operating officer and president of Booking.com, was tapped to succeed Huston as Booking.com CEO. Booking.com is Priceline’s accommodations-booking website. Priceline Chairman Jeffrey Boyd, former longtime CEO of the company, assumed the role of interim CEO while it searches for a new CEO. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News