Company Update (NASDAQ:PCLN): Priceline CEO quits over personal relationship with employee

[Reuters] – Priceline Group Inc said Chief Executive Darren Huston had resigned, effective immediately, following an investigation related to a personal relationship that he had with an employee who was not under his direct supervision. The investigation determined that Huston had acted contrary to the company’s code of conduct and had engaged in activities inconsistent with the board’s expectations for executive conduct, Priceline said. The company said that Huston, who has been the company’s CEO since January 2014, has acknowledged his misconduct and expressed regret. Read more on this. The Priceline Group Inc. (PCLN) , valued at $66.93B, ended trading at $1,353.74. Looking at the stock, its one day range is $1,330.00 to $1,355.91 with its 52-week range being $954.02 to $1,476.52. Priceline (PCLN) shares are currently priced at 19.49x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 15.34x earnings multiple for the same period. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 28 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $9.66 per share, which would be $1.54 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.00 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $69.47 which would be a $11.14 better than last year’s full-year earnings. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $2.12 Billion. If reported, that would be a 15.22% increase over the year-ago quarter. Recently, Pacific Crest Initiated PCLN at Sector Weight (Mar 31, 2016). Previously, Goldman downgraded PCLN from Buy to Neutral. The average price target for PCLN shares by the analysts covering the stock is $1,446.19, which is 0.00% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NASDAQ:PCLN) Similar Articles: Company Update: priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:PCLN) – The Priceline Group to Webcast 1st Quarter 2016 Financial Results on May 4th Stock Update: priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:PCLN) – Priceline unit Booking.com strikes Cuba deal for Americans Market Update: priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:PCLN) – The Priceline Group to Webcast 4th Quarter 2015 Financial Results on February 17th