Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 577 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 123 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 400.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in Booking during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 50.0% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks argues BKNG is technically oversold after an ~18.4% pullback over four weeks and highlights upward revisions to earnings estimates, framing a potential near‑term reversal and buy‑the‑dip opportunity. Zacks Buy-the-Dip
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains constructive — coverage shows a “Moderate Buy” consensus, which supports investor conviction that upside exists versus recent weakness. Consensus Moderate Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Independent writeups laying out a bull case for BKNG (coverage on Yahoo/others) add to the narrative that the pullback may be a buying opportunity for longer‑term investors. Yahoo Bull Case
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush cut its price target from $6,000 to $5,500 but retained an “outperform” rating — still implies material upside from current levels, though the cut signals more conservative near‑term expectations. Wedbush PT Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: A short‑interest update appears inconsistent/erroneous (reports of a “significant increase” but showing zero shares/NaN). Given the data issues, it’s unlikely to be an immediate trading driver until clarified.
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch flagged that BKNG underperformed peers on Thursday, which underscores sector/stock‑specific weakness that can pressure the share price if it continues. MarketWatch Underperformance
• Negative Sentiment: Citizens issued a downgrade on BKNG, adding downside sentiment from at least one retail/institutional watcher and increasing short‑term selling pressure risk. Citizens Downgrade

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,191.15, for a total transaction of $77,867.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,566,320.05. This trade represents a 2.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,105.36, for a total transaction of $204,214.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 840 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,124 shares of company stock valued at $16,194,538. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Booking from $6,806.00 to $6,608.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Booking from $6,000.00 to $5,500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $6,150.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $6,325.00 target price on Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,180.00.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,457.17 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $4,096.23 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5,202.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $5,279.21. The company has a market capitalization of $143.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21.

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.