Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Earns Buy Rating from BTIG Research

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at BTIG Research in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $250.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 19.68% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on BKNG. Wedbush raised their target price on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.45.

Booking Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $208.89 on Thursday. Booking has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $227.72. The company has a market cap of $156.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $190.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Booking by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Booking by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.