Piper Jaffray Sees Fundamentals Helping Priceline, But Less Favorable For Expedia

Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson noted that online travel data continues to “appear favorable” with strong results in the U.S. and Europe.

The travel trends and online growth may be positive for Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ: PCLN) especially considering its “conservative” Q4 outlook.

For Expedia Inc (NASDAQ: EXPE), the same fundamental trends may be less favorable as the company has been “more aggressive” in its guidance and its risk-to-reward ratio appeared to be “unfavorably balanced.”

The firm rated Priceline at Overweight and Expedia was rated Neutral.

Year-to-date, Priceline’s return was nearly flat and it recently traded at $1,160.58, up 0.39 percent.

In comparison, Expedia is up approximately 27 percent year-to-date and recently traded at $88.34, down 1 percent.