Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN)
With a multitude of platforms under its belt, the leading global travel service provider is the largest holding - 6.47% of the $21.6 billion portfolio - of one of the top pure play hedge funds Lone Pine Capital, which is run by a veteran activist and Harvard-MBA Stephen Mandel. As per the latest filing, the hedge fund increased its stake in the company by more than 40%. Their average purchase price for the entire PCLN-holding is $1,248.41, significantly below the latest close of $1,442.52. In addition to Lone Pine Capital, PCLN, regarded as a secular growth story by the investing community, is easily found in the top-five holdings of several other big-ticket hedge funds.
Two of PCLN's largest platforms are: priceline.com, which facilitates online hotel-bookings, rental car services and air-ticket reservations; and Booking.com, one of largest online accommodation services provider. In addition, PCLN operates Agoda.com, accommodation reservation provider in the Asia-Pacific region and a dedicated platform for rental car services: rentalcar.com. That's not all, the company also provides vacation and cruise packages along with restaurant reservations; and also runs Opentable-a provider of reservation management services to restaurants.
