FBR Downgrades Shares Of Priceline Group Inc.

On Tuesday, analysts at FBR Capital downgraded shares of Priceline Group Inc. PCLN from Outperform to Market Perform and maintained the $1,225 price target.

FBR analyst Jake Fuller finds that Priceline’s growth is slowing and its margins are compressing, the analysts expects “EPS growth likely to slow to the mid- or high-teens range moving forward.”

Moreover, Fuller believes the company is experiencing margin pressure due to rising customer acquisition cost, mix shift toward emerging markets and investment spending in newer businesses

Lastly, Fuller still sees Priceline outpacing channel growth, but outperformance is likely to be narrower given increased competition.

Shares of Priceline Group are down 1.75 percent Tuesday afternoon.