Do Hedge Funds Like Priceline.com Inc (PCLN)?

Priceline.com’s stock has inched up by 3.80% over the last 52 weeks and is currently trading at around 16 times earnings, which is in line with the average for the S&P 500. The company is set to benefit from lower oil prices as cheaper fuel is likely to increase the demand for travel. For the fourth quarter, Priceline posted a 12% annual growth in profit to $504.3 million, while its revenue of $2.0 billion went up by 8.7% on the year and topped the estimates of $1.96 billion. For the current quarter, the company anticipates its revenue to grow between 9% and 16%.

When it comes to the smart money sentiment, aside from the overall data we can observe by analyzing 13F filings, we can also mention some opinions voiced by investors bullish on the stock. Among others, billionaire Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital, which owns 834,421 shares, mentioned the company in its third-quarter investor letter. More specifically, the fund said that Priceline.com is among several Internet disruptors that it holds, adding that “Internet disrupters are capturing a significant portion of the economics in a number of vertical markets (advertising, video gaming, media, retailing, travel), building significant moats around their businesses and putting tremendous pressure on the business models of incumbents.”

On the other hand, billionaire Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors closed its stake in Priceline during the last three months of 2015, despite the fact that the fund had projected the company’s stock to grow substantially in the medium run. In its third-quarter investor conference call, Omega disclosed holding 1.9% of its assets in Priceline (it reported 115,025 shares in its 13F for the third quarter) and added that it expected the stock to grow by 18% per year for the next three to five years.

With all of this in mind, we’re going to check out the new action regarding Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN).