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

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by BTIG Research in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6,250.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 15.18% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BKNG. Gordon Haskett lifted their target price on Booking from $5,620.00 to $5,710.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Booking from $6,200.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $6,100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial set a $5,810.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,149.23.

Booking Trading Down 0.2%

BKNG opened at $5,426.52 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5,090.69 and its 200 day moving average is $5,371.99. The company has a market cap of $174.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25. Booking has a 12-month low of $4,096.23 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The business had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $83.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,030.00, for a total value of $75,450.00. Following the sale, the director owned 717 shares in the company, valued at $3,606,510. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,570,000. This trade represents a 11.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 3,324 shares of company stock worth $17,193,557 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its position in Booking by 150.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Booking in the third quarter worth $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at $28,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.