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

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by stock analysts at BTIG Research in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6,250.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price points to a potential upside of 50.46% from the stock’s previous close.

BKNG has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Oppenheimer set a $6,000.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays set a $5,500.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $6,100.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Twenty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,867.09.

Booking Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,153.87 on Tuesday. Booking has a 12-month low of $3,765.45 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market cap of $131.55 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4,829.64 and a 200 day moving average of $5,114.85.

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

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.96 by $0.84. Booking had a negative return on equity of 128.99% and a net margin of 20.08%.The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $41.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total transaction of $80,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 702 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,124. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 stock was sold at an average price of $5,105.36, for a total value of $204,214.40. Following the sale, the director owned 840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,288,502.40. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,108 shares of company stock valued at $15,287,682. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Booking by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,132,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,042,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 67.3% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $174,893,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares in the last quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 339.0% during the 3rd quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 229.6% in the third quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 412 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.