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

BTIG Research restated their buy rating on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. BTIG Research currently has a $250.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

BKNG has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $205.00 price target on Booking in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.35.

Booking Trading Up 9.8%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $170.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.17. Booking has a 1 year low of $146.28 and a 1 year high of $220.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $168.13 and a 200-day moving average of $176.51.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.55 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 95.02% and a net margin of 25.52%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $99.50 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,800,000. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 77,425 shares of company stock valued at $16,004,164 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Booking by 2.6% in the third quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its position in Booking by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at about $342,000. Accuvest Global Advisors acquired a new position in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at about $499,000. Finally, StoneRidge PMG Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at about $577,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.66 beat expectations. Room nights grew 7%, and gross bookings and adjusted revenue also increased, indicating underlying travel activity remained healthy. Booking Holdings Q3 Earnings Beat on Travel Growth, Revenues Miss
• Positive Sentiment: The stock’s recovery after an initial post-earnings decline indicates investors may have already priced in a weak report and are giving weight to the earnings beat and travel-volume growth. Booking Holdings earnings analysis: questions answered and next catalysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts lowered price targets after the results, but many maintained Buy, Outperform or Overweight ratings. This reflects reduced near-term expectations rather than a broad shift to bearish recommendations. These Analysts Slash Their Forecasts On Booking Holdings Following Q3 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Reported revenue missed estimates and fell year over year, partly due to an approximately $900 million revenue impact tied to FTC action. The company also cautioned that travel-demand growth is likely to moderate in Q4, with international demand pressured by geopolitical turmoil and higher airfares. Booking Holdings takes $900 million hit to quarterly revenue linked to FTC action

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant-reservation company that connects consumers with travel providers through digital platforms and mobile applications. Its services include accommodations, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages, restaurant reservations and other travel-related offerings.

The company operates a portfolio of well-known brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and Kayak-associated travel services.