Booking’s (BKNG) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at BTIG Research

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by BTIG Research in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $250.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 57.97% from the stock’s previous close.

BKNG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $188.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.98.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $158.26. 1,925,515 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,231,085. Booking has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The company has a market cap of $118.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.07.

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

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,935,432. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,275. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth about $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2,674.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,026,348,000 after buying an additional 37,999,915 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth about $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at about $1,370,455,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 2,525.5% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,101,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,087,597,000 after purchasing an additional 5,869,459 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Booking

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.