Stock Picks: Oracle, Priceline.com

Plus Wall Street analyst opinions on Electronic Arts and GT Solar International

Oracle (ORCL)

Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services maintains hold

S&P equity analyst Zaineb Bokhari said in a Nov. 10 note that as expected, European regulators issued an objection to Oracle's proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems (JAVA), citing the potential for reduced competition in the database market if Oracle gains open source database provider MySQL (owned by Sun). Bokhari noted that the U.S. Department of Justice reiterated its clearance of the deal. The analyst thinks Oracle and MySQL compete at different ends of the database market and is not convinced that Oracle's ownership will limit competition.

Bokhari also thinks MySQL will expand Oracle's market reach, but "judging by current sales, not by much initially."

Priceline.com (PCLN)

RBC Capital rates outperform; raises estimates, price target

RBC Capital analyst Ross Sandler said on Nov. 10 that Priceline reported significant upside to his third-quarter estimates. He said the outperformance was broad-based, with hotel room nights accelerating to a year-over-year increase of 56%, while air tickets were up 31%. Sandler noted that there are few Internet companies in his coverage universe as large as Priceline experiencing this kind of volume acceleration at these growth rates.

The analyst also said his thesis for Priceline is based on industry-high exposure to the higher-margin hotel segment and faster growth in international regions continuing to drive above-average growth. He rised his $7.53 2009 pro forma EPS estimate to $8.21, his $9.21 forecast for 2010 to $10.04, and his $235 price target to $260.

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