Priceline, Inc. (PCLN) is the second largest online travel agency in the world after Expedia, Inc. (EXPE) and offers travel services over the Internet, including bookings for air tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, cruises and vacation packages.

What distinguishes Priceline from the rest is its proprietary Name Your Own Price service? While it does sell travel services under the traditional price-disclosed model, the Name Your Own Price service allows customers (that are flexible on the date and time of travel and the choice of supplier) the option to bid for hotel stays and air tickets.

Expedia, Inc. (EXPE), an online service devoted to travel whose related companies include Orbitz Worldwide (OWW) and Priceline.com (PCLN), issued its Q4 results after the bell today. According to the report, which you can find at the company's investor site, adjusted net income increased 10% to 32 cents per share. TheFly says that this number came in below the estimate by a disappointing four pennies.

You can't always beat Wall Street's prediction. Shortly after the data was posted, the stock experienced a drop of 3.7%, making the quote equal to $24.74.

Priceline.com (PCLN) issued its third-quarter report yesterday after the bell. The market sent the stock of the online-travel concern higher by 6% in the extended-hours session, bringing it up to $412.

That was well past the 52-week high of $393.33. With a 52-week low set at $167.25, this company has one heck of a yearly range. Those who got in at the low and have still held on must be doing some kind of victory dance right about now.

This week, JCPenney (JCP), Kohl's (KSS) and Macy's (M) are the first of the major retailers to report results for the most recent quarter.

Macy's launched an American Express credit card and increased its mobile presence during the fiscal fourth quarter. The analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast Macy's earnings for that period come to three cents per share, which compares to a net loss of three cents per share in the same period of last year. The Cincinnati-based department store operator is expected to post revenue of $5.6 billion for the three months that ended in October, which is 5.2% more than a year earlier. For the full year, the forecast calls for earnings of $1.50 per share (+6.7%) and $8.2 billion in revenue (+4.3%). Macy's earnings results have been better than expected in recent quarters by a penny or a few per share.

Priceline.com (PCLN) is expected to report Q3 EPS on Nov. 8. November put option implied volatility is at 64, December is at 49, January is at 46, versus its six-month average of 46, according to Track Data, suggesting larger November price movement.

CBOE S&P 500 3-month Volatility Index (VXV) down $1.00 to $20.65 into October employment report; S&P 500 rose 1.9% as gold rose $55 to a record high and oil rallied 2%.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Duoyuan Global Water (DGW) to neutral from underweight, citing the potential for positive fundamental news flow through the end of the year, and upped its price target to $16 from $9.
• Jefferies upgraded Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) to buy from underperform, expecting a benefit from a significant ramp in EVDO software sales as mobile data growth accelerates.
• Myriad Genetics (MYGN) was upgraded at RBC Capital to outperform from sector perform with a $23 price target based on valuation and potential to be acquired.
• Goldman upgraded Mohawk (MHK) to neutral from sell with a $53 price target.
• Smithfield Foods (SFD) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO capital with a $21 target.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Costco (COST) to buy from neutral based on valuation, improving fundamentals and potential catalysts. The firm raised its price target to $68 from $62.
• Soleil upgraded MGM Resorts (MGM) to buy from hold, citing valuation, easing balance sheet concerns and a multiyear convention recovery. The firm upped its target for shares to $14 from $13. Note, Soleil also downgraded Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to hold from buy.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) to overweight from neutral with a $59 price target following the company's better-than-expected Q2 results.
• Dell (DELL) was upgraded to buy from outperform at CLSA.
• CommScope (CTV) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• EnCana (ECA) was upgraded to sector outperformer from sector performer at CIBC.

Analyst Upgrades

• Auriga upgraded Leap Wireless (LEAP) to buy from hold following the company's Q2 results and analyst day, citing valuation, longer-term potential for consolidation and prospects for business improvements. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target for shares to $16 from $19.
• Goldman upgraded Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from sell following the company's announcement to explore strategic alternatives. The firm raised its price target to $15 from $12.
• RBC Capital upgraded ESCO Technologies (ESE) to sector perform from underperform following the better-than-expected Q3 report. The firm raised its price target to $30 from $28.
• MetLife (MET) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• HSBC (HBC) was upgraded to outperform from underperform at CLSA.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup assumed coverage of Boeing (BA) and upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold due to its positive view on the aerospace cycle and valuation. The firm raised its target for shares to $80 from $73.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Motorola (MOT) to Overweight from Underweight citing expectations for higher handset margins driven by Android. The analyst raised Android unit shipping estimates and earnings estimates. The firm raised its price target on shares to $9.75 from $8.75.
• Susquehanna upgraded SINA Corporation (SINA) to Positive from Neutral and has a $50 target on the stock. The firm said Sina'a Twitter like service called 'Sina Weibo' has seen exponential growth and will crate huge value for the company.
• AOL (AOL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Frontier Communications (FTR) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital and to Buy from Hold at Hudson Square.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

With the unemployment rate hovering near 10%, bad news on the TV and job prospects dwindling, it can be tempting to retreat to a nice beach somewhere until the economy turns around. Some people are actually doing it! Rather than sitting around and moping until the economy recovers, you can go see the world and have the trip of a lifetime.

Out of work and taking a vacation? You probably want some of what I am smoking? Well, listen up!

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Starwood Hotels (HOT) to buy from hold, citing accelerating RevPAR comps and valuation. The firm upped its target for shares to $57 from $55.
• TD Newcrest upgraded Ivanhoe Mines (IVN) to speculative buy from hold based on valuation.
• BMO Capital upgraded Power Integrations (POWI) and ON Semiconductor (ONNN) to outperform from market perform based on valuation. The firm has a $45 target on Power Integrations and a $9 target on ON Semiconductor.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Reliance Steel (RS) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• AXA (AXA) was upgraded to add from neutral at WestLB.
  

Analyst Upgrades

• Bernstein upgraded Boeing (BA) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation. The firm also raised its price target to $81 from $80.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Thomas & Betts (TNB) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and an expected recovery in North American nonresidential construction.
• RBC Capital upgraded Susquehanna (SUSQ) to outperform from sector perform and has a $14 target on the stock. The firm thinks the stock's valuation is attractive as its decline in response to the European debt crisis and financial regulatory reform has been overdone.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Genzyme (GENZ) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• RightNow (RNOW) was upgraded to overweight from market weight at Thomas Weisel.

Priceline.com (PCLN) has a 52-week range indicative of some very interesting price action. The 52-week low is $98.51. The 52-week high is $273.93. The stock closed on Monday at $193.14, up just about 1% for the day.

The big brand of online travel, which competes with Expedia (EXPE), received an upgrade Monday. Soleil Securities took its rating of the company from hold to buy; however, the price target was lowered from $250 to $230 at the same time. It's always odd when that happens, but the important take-away here is the rating firm's belief in potential upside from current prices.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Transocean (RIG) to outperform from market perform as it believes congressional hearings and reports indicate the company's blowout preventer at the Deepwater Horizon likely worked properly. The firm has an $87 price target for shares.
• Auriga upgraded First Solar (FSLR) to buy from hold as it believes the recent sell-off in shares as created an attractive entry point. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target for shares to $138 from $147.
• Soleil upgraded Priceline.com (PCLN) to buy from hold, citing a favorable risk-reward profile. Despite the upgrade, the firm lowered its target for shares to $230 from $250.
• Blackrock (BLK) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Abbott (ABT) was upgraded to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Exxon Mobil (XOM) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

Retail is heating up. A look at the hottest retail ETFs shows that the sector is dramatically outperforming the market so far in 2010 -- up to four times over! That means if you were holding some of the elite retail components in these funds, you would be doing even better.

Take online retailer Overstock.com (OSTK), up over 65% since January 1 to today's opening bell! Any investor who has blacklisted the entire retail sector is missing out on big moneymakers like this company.