Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given “Buy” Rating at BTIG Research

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at BTIG Research in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $250.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 58.51% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.98.

Booking Stock Up 1.2%

Booking stock traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $157.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,261,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,228,531. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.07. Booking has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $192.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Booking will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,404,063. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock worth $17,182,275. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,685,520,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Booking by 1,497.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $3,271,041,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.