Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Keeps Buy Rating at BTIG Research

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by BTIG Research in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $250.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. BTIG Research‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 59.72% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on BKNG. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.71.

Booking Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $4.58 during trading on Thursday, reaching $156.52. 2,669,549 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,120,161. The firm has a market cap of $117.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.38. Booking has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 84,550 shares of company stock worth $17,426,865. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,674.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,026,348,000 after buying an additional 37,999,915 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,370,455,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,489,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,057,274,000 after buying an additional 64,584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Company Profile

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.