B. Riley Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial cut its price target on Booking from $272 to $264 but kept a "buy" rating, with that target implying roughly a 47.55% upside from the stock's prior close.
• Booking shares recently traded at $178.93 (down ~0.7%) with a 12‑month range of $150.62–$233.58 and a market cap of $141.68 billion; analysts' consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $232.45.
• Insider selling has been notable: CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares (~$3.1M) under a 10b5‑1 plan, insiders sold about 60,876 shares (~$10.56M) in the past three months, while institutional investors own 92.42% of the stock and insiders hold 0.16%.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at B. Riley Financial from $272.00 to $264.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the business services provider's stock. B. Riley Financial's target price suggests a potential upside of 47.55% from the stock's previous close.

BKNG has been the topic of several other research reports. Susquehanna set a $260.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer set a $240.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $244.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $234.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Booking from $250.00 to $224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $232.45.

Booking Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Booking stock traded down $1.32 on Monday, hitting $178.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,751,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,399,171. Booking has a twelve month low of $150.62 and a twelve month high of $233.58. The business's 50 day moving average is $173.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.06. The stock has a market cap of $141.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $46.88. Booking had a negative return on equity of 128.99% and a net margin of 20.08%.The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at $55,269,532.64. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.21, for a total value of $204,214.40. Following the sale, the director owned 21,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,288,502.40. The trade was a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 60,876 shares of company stock worth $10,559,629 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Booking during the first quarter worth $19,043,000. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 299.2% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 998 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,202,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 8,870 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,346,000 after acquiring an additional 3,555 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 368.5% in the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 670 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,822,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 9,345 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,345,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Company Profile

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.

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