Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 20,747 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 179% compared to the average daily volume of 7,442 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,269,532.64. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.21, for a total value of $204,214.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,502.40. The trade was a 4.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 60,876 shares of company stock valued at $10,559,629 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Booking by 7.7% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,132,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 59.6% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 229.6% in the third quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 412 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC grew its position in Booking by 339.0% in the third quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Booking by 6.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 72,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $392,009,000 after acquiring an additional 4,589 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Booking from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Booking from $224.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore set a $245.00 target price on Booking in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Booking from $216.28 to $187.92 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Booking from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.72.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $173.98 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20. Booking has a 1 year low of $150.62 and a 1 year high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $27.56 by ($26.42). The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking will post 10.64 EPS for the current year.

Booking Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 25.26%.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations on key metrics — revenue and bookings grew double digits and EBITDA/revenue showed strength, which underpins the near-term bullish case. Booking Holdings Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted AI initiatives that are cutting costs and improving customer experience — investors see operational leverage from AI as a medium-term tailwind. Booking Holdings AI Assistants Slash Costs and Boost Bookings
• Positive Sentiment: KAYAK launched a conversational “Ask AI” feature that showcases product-level innovation and could help user engagement and conversion. KAYAK Launches Ask AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options flow: very large spikes in both calls and puts (massive call buying but also a surge in puts) — implies heightened short-term speculation and hedging rather than a one-sided directional bet. (Market data summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Company cut its full‑year outlook, citing the Middle East conflict’s hit to travel demand — the guidance pullback is the primary reason some investors trimmed multiple months of optimism. Booking Holdings Cuts Full-Year Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Broad analyst re‑ratings: several firms trimmed price targets (Goldman, Citi, HSBC, Mizuho, Deutsche Bank, RBC and others), putting downward pressure on sentiment despite many ratings remaining “buy/overweight.” Example: Goldman PT adjustment. Goldman Sachs Adjusts PT on Booking
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and large‑fund activity shows selling pressure (notable insider sales reported and some hedge‑fund trimming), which can sap conviction for short-term buyers. Quiver Quant — Insider Trading & Hedge Fund Moves
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing geopolitical and macro uncertainty (fuel/airline cost pressures, region-specific travel weakness) keeps the outlook uncertain and helps explain the muted price response to the quarter. Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

About Booking

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.