Skift Take
The author points out an often-overlooked fact that Priceline/Booking.com may now be putting pressure on Expedia and Orbitz in a mature market, the U.S., with the Booking.com advertising campaign that began earlier this year. Hotwire is already engaged in an offline advertising blitz to answer Priceline's inroads, and Booking.com's campaign makes things even testier.
Priceline.com’s (NASDAQ: PCLN) stock continues to defy gravity and stay near the $800 level. Many skeptics have been asking how the stock can be this high with shares having risen 3,000% in the past eight years. The answer is that the company is the best in the online travel space. Priceline has successfully moved from being primarily a “Name Your Price” website to a fully integrated online travel booking destination.
…. Priceline is the better bet [compared with Expedia and Orbitz Worldwide]. It has the largest market cap, fastest quarterly revenue growth, highest operating margins, highest profits, and the lowest P/E. Based on these metrics, Priceline is the stock to own of the three.
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