Priceline Stock Still Cheap, Joe Terranova Says

Priceline.com beat Wall Street estimates Tuesday, posting a 66 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings, sending the stock higher — and trader Joe Terranova thinks it’s still cheap.

“Applecertainly showed me you don’t sell short stocks with such cheap valuation, and that’s what Priceline has,” Terranova of Virtus Investment Partners said on “Fast Money.”

Terranova focused on the stock’s valuation, trading at 16 times 2013 earnings, and the company’s growth potential outside the United States.

“You’re talking mid-teens for Priceline, which is incredibly cheap, and again, the emerging markets story, they’re only in the first leg of that,” he said.

Trader Zach Karabell of RiverTwice said he had sold some $505 puts 3½ weeks ago and continued to sell off, only to have the stock climb higher.

“Apple has clearly shown us that large stocks with three-digit numbers can go up exponentially,” he said.

Priceline.com shares closed at $632.76, up 7 percent.

Over the past five years, Priceline.com stock has soared more than 1,000 percent. By comparison, Apple stock increased by 500 percent within the same period.

Contrarian trader Steve Cortes of Veracruz saw potential headwinds in the underperformance of a related industry.

“The airlines specifically — transportation, generally — is one of the few sectors that has not participated in the rally in February, if you look at Delta and United, so that would give me some caution,” he said. “If I were long Priceline, I would at least be taking partial profits.”

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Trader disclosure: On Feb. 28, 2012, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Terranova is long (VRTS); Terranova is long (MCD); Terranova is long (OXY); Terranova is long (IBM); Terranova is long (EMC); Terranova is long (LQD); Terranova is long (FXE); Cortes is short (XHB); Cortes is short (FXI); Cortes is short USD vs. JPY;

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