Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Upgraded by TD Cowen to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• TD Cowen upgraded Booking Holdings to “strong buy,” adding to a broadly positive analyst outlook. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $236.98.
• Booking reported quarterly earnings of $2.54 per share, exceeding estimates of $2.43, while revenue reached $7.35 billion—up 8.1% year over year and above expectations.
• Insiders sold 83,050 shares worth approximately $17.2 million during the past quarter, while institutional investors remain major shareholders, owning 92.42% of the company.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at TD Cowen to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on BKNG. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.98.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $171.40 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.13. Booking has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The company has a market cap of $128.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 83,050 shares of company stock worth $17,182,274 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Booking by 1,615.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 13,931 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 13,119 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 2,860.8% in the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,238,000 after buying an additional 12,130 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $361,463,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 1,663.9% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,115,000 after buying an additional 27,071 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.

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