Groupon Inc (GRPN) Falls, Priceline.com Inc (PCLN) Up On Earnings

Updated on

Both Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) and Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) released their latest earnings reports last night. Groupon’s results initially excited Wall Street, but then investors looked at the company’s guidance and sent shares downward in after-hours and premarket trading. Priceline posted solid beats on the top and bottom lines, and investors responded by edging its share price a bit higher.

Priceline beats on earnings

Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) posted non-GAAP earnings per share of $8.85 on revenue of $1.54 billion for the most recently completed quarter. GAAP earnings were $8.04 per share. Analysts had been expecting to see non-GAAP earnings of $8.29 per share on revenue of $1.52 billion.

The company’s fourth quarter gross travel bookings were $9.1 billion—a 38.8% year over year increase. Gross profits were $1.3 billion for the quarter—a 41.9% year over year increase.

Analysts bump Priceline PTs up

Analysts at several firms raised their price targets for Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) after last night’s earnings report, according to Analyst Ratings. RBC Capital, Susquehanna, Bank of America and FBR Capital Markets are among those who increased their price target today. RBC Capital, Susquehanna and FBR Capital Markets all have a $1,500 per share price target on the company’s stock. Bank of America raised their target from $1,300 to $1,400 per share. A couple of days before the earnings report, Jefferies raised their price target from $1,200 to $1,475 per share.

Groupon misses on guidance

Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) posted non-GAAP earnings of 4 cents per share on $768.4 million in revenue. That’s compared to consensus estimates of 2 cents per share in earnings on $718 million in revenue.

The place where Groupon ran into trouble was its guidance. The daily deals giant guided for current quarter EBITDA of between $20 million and $40 million. Analysts had been expecting to see EBITDA of $96 million for the quarter. Groupon blamed the lower than expected guidance on its acquisitions of Ticket Monster and ideeli, saying it expects to see a negative impact of about $20 million on its profits because of those impacts. The company also said it expects to spend $25 million more on marketing and growth initiatives during the quarter.

Analysts downgrade Groupon post-earnings

After last night’s earnings report, at least five firms either downgraded Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) or lowered their price target for the company’s stock, according to Analyst Ratings. Credit Suisse downgraded the company from Neutral to Underperform, while Stifel Nicolaus cut its price target from $15 to $14 per share, although the firm continues to rate Groupon as a Buy.

Evercore Partners analysts lowered their price target for Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) to $8 a share, while Bank of America cut their target from $13 to $11 per share. RBC Capital downgraded Groupon from Sector Perform to Underperform and lowered their price target from $11 to $7 a share.

 

 

Leave a Comment