UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Downgrades Priceline.com to Equal-Weight on Rising Costs

Morgan Stanley downgraded Priceline.com Incorporated

from Overweight to Equal-weight and lowered the price target from $750.00 to $730.00. Morgan Stanley commented, "Over the next three years, we expect PCLN to grow bookings at a 19% CAGR and EBITDA margins to contract by 220bps. PCLN is entering a new landscape with a strong number two competitor in Europe (Expedia, Equal-weight). We expect greater online advertising deleverage due to a more competitive environment for paid search marketing, Google's travel initiatives and lower advertising ROI in newer markets. Furthermore, the rapid shift to mobile bookings is a threat to PCLN given its core expertise lies in desktop SEM." Priceline.com closed at $695.09 on Wednesday.