3 Predictions for Next Week: Sodastream International Ltd (SODA) and More

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3. Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) will beat Wall Street’s earnings estimates
Some stocks are just flat-out better than others.

When it comes to online travel, Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) is the niche’s shooting star. Priceline has evolved from its roots as a portal where folks would submit low bids on hotels and air fares, only to be turned down five times out of every six requests. Sure, Priceline still offers the “name your own price” platform, but it’s now a more full-featured travel website with a growing global presence.

Another thing it does is make analysts look like perpetual underachievers. If analysts say the company posted a profit of $6.54 a share in its latest quarter, I’ll whip out a “greater than” sign. History’s on my side!

One of my best tricks to beating the market is finding stocks that perpetually land ahead of the prognosticators. Let’s go over the past year of earnings reports.

Quarter EPS Estimate EPS Surprise
Q4 2011 $5.05 $5.37 6%
Q1 2012 $3.95 $4.28 8%
Q2 2012 $7.36 $7.85 7%
Q3 2012 $11.81 $12.40 5%

Source: Thomson Reuters.

Things can change, of course. Europe continues to be a weak market, and Priceline has a very strong presence there. Consumers may be hesitant to travel, and companies may be reluctant to commit to corporate treks.

Then again, you have to go all the way back to 2006 to find the last time the online travel giant hasn’t beaten Wall Street’s quarterly earnings projections. Everything seems to be falling into place for another market-thumping quarter on the bottom line.

Three for the road
Well, there are three predictions right there. Let’s see how I fare this week.

The article 3 Predictions for Next Week originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Rick Aristotle Munarriz.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Aristotle Munarriz owns shares of SodaStream. The Motley Fool recommends priceline.com, SodaStream, and Yandex and owns shares of priceline.com, SodaStream, and Sturm, Ruger.

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