=Priceline Group (PCLN) changes its name to Booking Holdings (BKNG)

Priceline is rebranding to Booking Holdings Inc. It will begin trading under a new stock ticker, BKNG, beginning on February 27.

"We started 20 years ago with Priceline.com and one type of product called Name Your Own Price, a fairly niche product, and from that, we’re now the global leader doing many different things," Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel told Forbes. "So we want to make sure the parent name is aligned with all the things with we do, and it’s not just Priceline. In fact our biggest subsidiary is Booking.com by far."

Booking.com now accounts for both the majority of the company's gross bookings and operating profit, Fogel said. The travel website has more than 1.5 million properties listed and averages 1 million bookings a day, the company said. While a well-known name to many Americans, Priceline remained a very US-focused brand, and changing the name to reflect Booking.com's global appeal will reflect the company's size in the travel market, Fogel said.


Still, it's only one part of the holding group's portfolio. Beyond Priceline.com and Booking.com, the travel group also encompasses OpenTable, Kayak, Rentalcars.com and Agoda.com, an Asia-based accommodations website. The move away from the Priceline brand had been discussed as the company evolved, but the plans were only really put in motion after Fogel took the helm as CEO in January 2017.

-=Priceline (PCLN) reported earnings on Mon 6 Nov 2017 (a/h)

Priceline beats by $0.97, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus 

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $35.22 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.97 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $34.25; revenues rose 20.1% year/year to $4.43 bln vs the $4.34 bln Capital IQ Consensus, gross travel bookings for The Priceline Group, which refers to the total dollar value, generally inclusive of taxes and fees, of all travel services booked by its customers, net of cancellations, were $21.8 billion, an increase of 18% over a year ago (~16% on a constant-currency basis). "Globally, our accommodation business booked 178 million room nights in the third quarter, up 19% over the same period last year. Booking.com showed continued momentum with approximately 1.5 million properties on its platform, up 41% over last year. This represents 26.9 million potentially bookable rooms, which we believe to be the largest, and most diverse, selection of instantly bookable accommodations in the world."
• Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $13.40-14.00, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $15.57 Capital IQ Consensus; bookings +5.5-10.5% ex-FX; EBITDA $870-910 mln. 

Priceline (PCLN) reported earnings Mon 9 Nov 2015 (before open)

** charts before earnings **

 ** charts after earnings **

Priceline beats by $1.11, beats on revs; guides Q4 below consensus :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $25.35 per share, $1.11 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $24.24; revenues rose 9.4% year/year to $3.1 bln vs the $3.06 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Gross travel bookings for The Priceline Group, which refers to the total dollar value, generally inclusive of all taxes and fees, of all travel services purchased by its customers, were $14.8 billion, an increase of 7% over a year ago (~22% on a constant currency basis).
• Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $11.10-11.90, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $12.39 Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q4 revs +1-8% to ~$1.86-1.99 bln vs. $2.05 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
  • Year-over-year increase in total gross travel bookings of ~1% - 8% (an increase of ~13% - 20% on a constant currency basis).
  • Year-over-year increase in international gross travel bookings of ~3% - 10% (an increase of ~17% - 24% on a constant currency basis).
  • U.S. gross travel bookings are expected to decrease by 5% - 10% as compared to 4th quarter 2014. 
  • Peer: EXPE.

Priceline (PCLN)

Blowout earnings a quarter ago prompted a huge gap up. Then PCLN saw short-term selling to fill its gap and now the subsequent rally is complete as the early August highs have been retested. While a gap higher with upcoming earnings isn't a slam dunk, even a pullback after earnings would be bullish as the long-term weekly chart (pictured below) shows a cup or inverse head & shoulders pattern - both are bullish continuation patterns. Here's the daily chart, reflecting the recent test of resistance:

PCLN is part of the travel & tourism industry ($DJUSTT), which has been a stellar relative performer the past three months. In addition, PCLN looks very strong relative to its peers as it currently resides in a relative bull flag. A breakout above the price resistance shown on increasing volume would be quite bullish.

Options trade idea : butterfly strategy PCLN $592

Priceline dropped $117 on earnings August 8. Since then, it has been behaving and more range bound between 560 and 600. I am looking at a weekly strategy with a great risk reward to play this more range bound market in PCLN. 

Trade:   Butterfly Strategy  PCLN  $592    
   

Buy 1 PCLN weekly August  605 call   
sell 1 PCLN weekly August  595 call       
buy 1 PCLN weekly August  580 put     
sell 1 PCLN weekly August  590 put           
                                  Total Credit  $7.50   (using weekly option that came out today and expire next  week, Friday Aug 31).  Commissions are not included.

 ** weekly **

Why I like this strategy?  Great risk reward: I can make maximum $750 with total risk of $250. It’s also going into a holiday weekend (Labor Day is Monday after Aug 31 expiration), so maybe stock movement slows down next week.   

What’s my Plan?   Would look to take this trade off for a profit of 20-25%  probably Monday.

What price level Monday will PCLN need to be around to get your profit?   582-600

At what price level Monday should I get concerned with this spread?  Under $580 or over $605 would start to get me concerned enough to either adjust or exit this trade.

What if I faint during the time I have this spread position on, and Priceline goes to zero?  Remember, this is a great risk/reward trade and my maximum loss is $250.

What are my breakevens if I hold the entire position until Friday, 8/31?
$582.50 (590 put less $7.50) and $602.50 (short 595 call plus $7.50), excluding commissions.

What do I like best about trading Weekly's?  First, stay small. I have a very short term outlook, and with Weekly’s I can take advantage of accelerated time decay.

Priceline.com (PCLN) reported earnings Tue 7 Aug 2012

** charts before earnings **

 ** weekly **

** after earnings *

Priceline.com's second-quarter earnings increased 37% as the online travel agent's revenue continued to grow, with particular strength from international hotel bookings. Shares fell 15% to $576.19 after hours as the company issued downbeat guidance for the current quarter.

PCLN vs GMCR vs AAPL - 5 year chart