Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given Buy Rating at BTIG Research

Key Points

• BTIG Research reaffirmed its Buy rating on Booking and set a $250 price target, implying 57.85% potential upside from the reported $158.38 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Booking has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $233.71, supported by multiple Buy and Strong Buy recommendations.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, with revenue rising 8.1% year over year; however, insiders sold $17.4 million of stock during the quarter.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by BTIG Research in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $250.00 target price on the business services provider's stock. BTIG Research's price objective suggests a potential upside of 57.85% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Cowen raised shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.71.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $158.38 on Thursday. Booking has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $220.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $179.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Booking will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,800,000. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was 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. Insiders sold a total of 84,550 shares of company stock valued at $17,426,865 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. NBT Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Booking during the third quarter worth about $228,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 27.8% during the third quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,485 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the third quarter worth about $354,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its holdings in Booking by 0.3% during the third quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 28,146 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,585,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Booking by 5.5% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,310 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.