This Day In Market History: Priceline's Unbelievable First Month

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Each day, Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that occurred on this date.

What Happened?

On this day 20 years ago, Priceline.com hit its Dot Com market peak, gaining more than 914 percent in a single month.

Where The Market Was

The Dow finished the day at 10,789.04. The S&P 500 traded at 1,335.18. Today, the Dow is trading at 26,554 and the S&P 500 is trading at 2,943.

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What Else Was Going On In The World?

In 1999, Hurricane Floyd slammed the U.S. East Coast, killing more than 50 people. U.S. President Bill Clinton was acquitted of perjury and obstruction of justice charges, ending his impeachment trial. A gallon of gasoline cost $1.22.

Dot Com Bubble Personified

Priceline went public at a price of $16 per share on March 30, 1999. Just one month later, the stock closed at $162.37, an unbelievable 914 percent one-month gain.

Unfortunately, like so many other Dot Com darlings, Priceline’s meteoric rise was short-lived. The stock tanked during the bursting of the bubble, and it ultimately lost 99 percent of its peak market cap of $23 billion by the end of 2000, bottoming at $6.37 per share. Priceline turned its first profit in 2001 and went on to become the world’s largest online hotel reservation service in 2010.

After a 2017 name change to Booking Holdings Inc BKNG, the stock now trades at $1,876 per share and has a market cap of $82 billion.

Related Links:

This Day In Market History: WSJ Interest Rate Headline Tanks Market

Difference Of Opinion: Mizuho Initiates Trivago With Buy, JPMorgan Downgrades To Underweight

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