Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $5,456.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $5,954.00 to $5,456.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BKNG. Wall Street Zen raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $4,495.00 target price (down previously from $5,830.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer set a $6,000.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Gordon Haskett upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,440.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Booking from $6,600.00 to $6,000.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Twenty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,971.64.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,076.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $129.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. Booking has a 1 year low of $3,871.01 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5,007.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $5,181.61.

Shares of Booking are set to split before the market opens on Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $47.96 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $41.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total transaction of $80,430.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 702 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,124. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,105.36, for a total transaction of $204,214.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,502.40. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,108 shares of company stock worth $15,287,682. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Haven Private LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 3.0% in the second quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 68 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.0% in the second quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC boosted its position in Booking by 0.3% during the second quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 605 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summitry LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat: BKNG reported Q4 revenue of $6.35B (+16% y/y) and EPS of $48.80, with room nights +9% and gross bookings +16% — strong operating metrics that underpin the stock’s upside. Q4 earnings highlights
• Positive Sentiment: 25-for-1 stock split: management announced a 25-to-1 split effective early April, which increases retail accessibility/liquidity and often supports demand from individual investors. MarketBeat BKNG page (split)
• Positive Sentiment: AI as a productivity lever: management highlighted generative-AI initiatives to improve personalization and conversion, which could be a medium-term margin tailwind if execution scales. Generative AI coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Forward tone: company gave constructive revenue growth guidance for the quarter (revenue growth range above some Street estimates), though currency-adjusted growth and margin cadence bear watching. Guidance & metrics comparison
• Neutral Sentiment: Documentation released: earnings transcript, slide deck and call replay are available for investors who want to dig into unit economics and regional trends. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price-target cuts: multiple firms trimmed targets (examples include Susquehanna, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and others), which pressured sentiment and contributed to recent near-term weakness. Benzinga: price-target cuts / 52-week low
• Negative Sentiment: AI disintermediation fears & insider selling: investors remain concerned that big‑tech AI agents could bypass OTAs and that higher marketing spend may compress near-term margins; CEO share sales in February add a modest negative optics element. Deep dive on AI/marketing impact Read More.

Booking Company Profile

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.