BTIG Research Reiterates Buy Rating for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at BTIG Research in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $250.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 60.36% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Argus lifted their price target on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.98.

Booking Trading Down 5.1%

BKNG opened at $155.90 on Thursday. Booking has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $225.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $192.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.07. The stock has a market cap of $117.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 16,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,404,063. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.