Robert Mylod, Jr. Sells 5,000 Shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Booking Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $192.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.71 and a 200 day moving average of $177.17. The company has a market cap of $149.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 25 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Booking by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 52 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its position in Booking by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,591,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Booking by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,272,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable. UBS raised its BKNG price target from $249 to $266 and reiterated a “Buy” rating. BMO Capital also maintained a “Buy” rating, while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average target near $227, well above recent trading levels. UBS analyst update BMO Capital rating
• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s latest reported quarter provided a solid operating base: adjusted earnings exceeded expectations, revenue reached $5.53 billion and increased 16.2% year over year. Investors may look for that momentum to continue in the second quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are focused on second-quarter room nights, gross bookings, revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. Results and management guidance will likely determine whether the recent weakness is temporary or signals a broader slowdown. Booking Q2 key metrics preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Directors Robert Mylod Jr. and Vanessa Ames Wittman sold shares worth approximately $1 million and $216,000, respectively. Both trades were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as a current signal about management’s outlook. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings outlook is cautious: analysts expect slower second-quarter growth as geopolitical and travel disruptions weigh on demand, while Connected Trip and artificial-intelligence investments may not fully offset the tougher environment. A miss on bookings, margins or guidance could increase volatility. Booking Q2 earnings outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure is increasing as Bank of America launched a travel center offering hotels, flights, car rentals and activities, while other platforms are also targeting Booking’s customers and supplier relationships.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on Booking in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.23.

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.