UPDATE: Oppenheimer Initiates Coverage On Priceline

In a report released Tuesday, Oppenheimer analyst Manish Hemrajani initiated coverage on Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN) with an Outperform rating and $1,450 price target.

Hemrajani states Priceline is the leading company in its sector in growth and revenue, being the world's largest travel agency in terms of revenue.

The analyst lists six main reasons why Oppenheimer favors Priceline in the online travel space: consistent track record on operations, higher margins for hotel companies contributing to Priceline's revenue, high growth in its international segment, increase market share domestically and increase branding.

Oppenheimer believes Priceline is benefiting from secular shift of users going online for relevant services, particularly given credit to its international demographic, but its domestic consumers continue to grow.