After spending much of the past six year at a bottom-dwelling one-star rank, priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) has impressed enough top-performing members of our 165,000-strong Motley Fool CAPS community to climb up to two stars. A total of 1,060 members have given their opinion on the online discount travel firm, with many of them offering analysis and commentary explaining the recent optimism.
Following a weak second-quarter forecast affected by the volcanic eruption in Iceland and debt woes in Europe, CAPS members have become more bullish on priceline.com's stock after it shed roughly 30% of its value. With the international growth potential of the company and signs of increasing travel, more investors are buying into the trends that can lead to continued strength in its business.
Major U.S. airlines recently posted one of the strongest quarters in recent years, with Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), United Airlines' parent UAL (Nasdaq: UAUA), and Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) all posting profits. Priceline is seeing signs of improving consumer demand, too, such as increases in hotel occupancy and average daily rates. Competitor Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE) is also generating strong financial results -- the company reported a big jump in second-quarter earnings with domestic and international bookings showing double-digit percentage increases. With Priceline's gross travel bookings up 52.5% in the first quarter, investors like the momentum for the rest of the year.
While Chinese peers Ctrip.com (Nasdaq: CTRP) and Universal Travel Group (NYSE: UTA) provided strong outlooks for this year as they look to benefit from strong demand in China, many investors see Europe as a long-term growth driver for Priceline, where fewer people currently book their travel online compared to the United States. In addition to an improving sentiment among CAPS members, some Wall Street analysts have also given a brighter outlook for Priceline and see improving travel trends in Europe as a positive for Priceline's business.
Do you think priceline.com deserves its raised status? Add your thoughts in the comments box below on this page, or head over to CAPS to rate the company and check out all the information and opinions the community offers, absolutely free.
Always looking ahead, the Motley Fool Rule Breakers service is picking the next generations' big winners today. To see what other rule-breaking stocks David Gardner is recommending now, take a free 30-day trial.
Fool contributor Dave Mock loves the first-class upgrade treatment. He owns no shares of companies mentioned here. priceline.com is a Stock Advisor recommendation. Ctrip.com International is a Motley Fool Hidden Gems choice. The Fool's disclosure policy tipped the scales at 250 in a very dark period of its life.
