DA Davidson Cuts Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $4,100.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at DA Davidson from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.19% from the stock’s previous close.

BKNG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $4,205.00 price target (up previously from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,039.73.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded down $336.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3,328.13. 790,933 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,859. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,881.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,690.58. The firm has a market cap of $112.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.39. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking will post 178.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,157,314.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $401,371,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,635,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,841,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its position in shares of Booking by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,699,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Booking by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $113,827,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.