Priceline Group Stock Crosses the Wrong Side of $1,000 Per Share

The Priceline Group’s stock price fell below $1,000 per share for the first time since October 2013, based on its heavy exposure to Europe.

The stock, which was trading as high as $1,378.96 in the last 52 weeks, fell 3.61 percent, or $37.42 per share, on January 15, closing at $998.25 per share.

SeekingAlpha editor Eric Jhonsa tied the fall to “fresh losses for the euro (following Switzerland’s abandoning of its efforts to halt the franc’s rise against the euro),” and the fact that Priceline generates 88 percent of its bookings from outside the U.S.

Expedia, which also does plenty of business in Europe, likewise saw its stock price decline 3.35 percent January 15 to $82.53 per share.

Priceline’s stock-price drop to below the $1,000 per share threshold is largely symbolic and doesn’t signal any imminent strategic decline.

Still, Priceline’s stock did receive several ratings downgrades over the past couple of weeks based on exposure to Europe and concerns about potential gains by competitors, including Expedia.

Skift has argued that the Priceline-Expedia online booking duopoly will almost inevitably change over time as new players emerge, but yesterday’s Priceline stock-price drop doesn’t yet signal a changing of the guard.