Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Cantor Fitzgerald

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $3,590.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 12.46% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,100.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,799.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,763.72. Booking has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,272.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $37.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,264,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC raised its position in Booking by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 65 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 24 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Booking

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.