Week of 8/25/01 in Business Week, Buffet says 8 years of stagnation due to excessive 90s. March 15, 01 O'Reilly says get in within two months, reiterated 4/3/01 with caution. 3/22/01 Cavuto on O'Reilly "A year from now the S&P will be 205 higher." May 1, 2001 Related QuotesEXPE PCLN TVLY 30.12 6.59 34 +4.11 +1.74 +4.05 delayed 20 mins - disclaimerGet QuotesTuesday May 1, 6:28 pm Eastern Time Market confidence bolsters online travel stocks (UPDATE: updates stock prices, adds details) NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - Growing market confidence in the online travel industry bolstered Web travel agent Travelocity.com's (NasdaqNM:TVLY - news) stock to a new year-high on Tuesday after a flurry of positive analyst remarks about its online rivals. ADVERTISEMENT Travelocity shares closed up $4.05, or more than 13 percent, to $34at the close of trade on Nasdaq. The stock, breaking through its previous 52-week peak of $30.75, earlier traded as high as $34.24. Industry analysts said investors have recognized the potential growth in the online travel market. ``Investors are enamored with the sector right now,'' said Legg Mason analyst Tom Underwood. ``Online travel apparently is one of the sectors in terms of B2C commerce that works very well. The major companies are now profitable and profits are expected to grow dramatically over the next several quarters,'' he said. Earlier, Prudential Securities said it increased its price target on rival Web travel company Expedia Inc. (NasdaqNM:EXPE - news) to $35 from $24 after the company posted its first quarterly operating profit -- a year ahead of plans. Expedia reported the operating profit for its third quarter and expected to again post a profit in the fourth quarter before items. The news boosted its shares, which closed up $4.11, or almost 16 percent, to $30.12. Shoring up the sector were shares of airline ticket and hotel reservation company Priceline.com (NasdaqNM:PCLN - news), which sky rocketed more than 35 percent or $1.74 to close at $6.59 after Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the company to market outperform from market perform. Analyst Anthony Noto said in a research note that Priceline has improved customer service, stabilized growth and right-sized the business. The research note seemed to foreshadow the company's current financial position. After markets closed on Tuesday, Priceline reported that it beat Wall Street expectations by posting a narrower-than-expected first quarter loss and reaffirmed its second-quarter 10 to 15 percent revenue growth forecasts. Despite the economic downturn dampening corporate travel spending, analysts said the three major firms are well-positioned for strong growth. Travelocity, Expedia and Priceline dominate the online ticketing sector with a combined 75 percent market share among Web-based travel agents. ``The market is looking for visibility and earnings momentum,'' said CIBC analysts Paul Keung. ``People are changing the way they are buying tickets and it has less to do with the underlying economy,'' he said. Last year, consumers bought about $14 billion in airline tickets online, which represented 14 percent of the total $100 billion in U.S. domestic airline ticket purchases. That $14 billion figure includes purchases from airline Websites, with online travel agents accounting for about half of the total figure. Analysts estimate online ticket purchases this year will grow about 30 percent to $20 billion. ``Customers prefer it,'' Legg Mason's Underwood said. ``It has a lot more freedom and it's a lot more cost effective and you're in control of the purchase.''