(PCLN) - Priceline.com - company is off to fast start with gross bookings growth of 63% in the second quarter of 2006

Priceline.com has exceeded earnings estimates in 10 out of the past 11 quarters. Five of those surprises have exceeded 20%. Additionally, year-over-year growth has been stellar over that time period. Over the past 60 days, this year's estimates have increased a nickel to $1.78 per share, while next year's numbers have jumped 21 cents to $2.26 per share. Full Analysis Priceline.com Incorporated (PCLN) operates as an online travel company in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company offers its services under the 'Name Your Own Price' system that allows its customers to make offers for travel services at discounted prices. Its service offering includes retail airline tickets, hotel reservations, and car rentals; and vacation packages, destination services, cruises trips, and travel insurance. The company also sells advertising to travel suppliers and others on its Web sites. Priceline.com's continued shift into retail airline tickets, non-air products (hotels, rental cars, and travel packages), and into Europe should enable the company to produce solid long-term earnings growth. Zacks Equity Research Analyst Robert Plaza is forecasting that the company will increase its gross bookings 40% in 2006 and 15% in 2007. The company is off to fast start with gross bookings growth of 63% in the second quarter of 2006. Driving the strong growth is the company's European business, which had organic bookings growth of 117% year-over-year in the second quarter. Europe is one of the largest travel markets in the world, and online purchases make up a small portion of total revenues. This low penetration ratio provides Priceline.com a huge opportunity for growth. PCLN has exceeded earnings estimates in 10 out of the past 11 quarters. Five of those surprises have exceeded 20%. Additionally, year-over-year growth has been stellar over that time period. Over the past 60 days, this year's estimates have increased a nickel to $1.78 per share, while next year's numbers have jumped 21 cents to $2.26 per share. The stock is trading at 17.7x next year's estimates of $2.26 per share, above the long-term growth rate of 15%, giving PCLN a PEG ratio of 1.18. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home