Priceline.com Inc. - Momentum

Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN) is trading like a rocket, currently going ballistic for a new all-time high above $500. As one of the biggest gainers over the last few years, this Zacks #1 rank stock is a momentum powerhouse.

Company Description

Priceline.com operates as an online travel services company worldwide. It was founded in 1997 and has a market cap of $25 billion.

Priceline is a stock that gets people fired up. The bears say its overvalued, but the bulls say valuations don’t matter, helping lift shares to a recent all-time high above $500. That comes on the heels of the company’s strong Q4 results from late February that came in ahead of expectations.

Fourth-Quarter Results

Revenue for the period was up 35% from last year to $731 million. Earnings also looked good, coming in at $3.04, 9% ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the company has an average earnings surprise of 9% over the last four quarters.

Priceline continued growing its strong international presence, with international revenue up 68% from last year to $375 million. Margins were also on the upswing, with gross profit climbing to $478 million, a 53% increase from last year.

Financial Profile

The company will also continue to benefit from its strong balance sheet, with cash and short-term investments of $1.67 billion and just $476 million in total debt.

Estimates

We saw some decent movement in estimates off the good quarter, with the current year up 75 cents to $17.18 while and the next-year estimate up $1.35 to $21.80, a bullish 27% growth projection.

Valuation

On the valuation front, PCLN’s PEG Ratio (PE/Growth) of 1.22 isn’t too much of a premium to the benchmark for value of 1.

5-Year Chart

Take a look at the 5-year chart below, when I saw it, one thing came to mind; “Goose, we’re going ballistic.” Good luck trying to find a hotter stock for the last five years. How long it will continue is anyone’s guess, but for the time being, PCLN is on fire. Take a look below.