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

Key Points

• BTIG reiterated a "Buy" rating on Booking with a $250 price target, implying roughly a 41.9% upside from the recent close.
• Booking reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $48.80 beating the $1.92 estimate and revenue of $6.35 billion topping the $6.12 billion consensus, with revenue up about 16% year‑over‑year.
• The company completed a 25‑for‑1 stock split, which has boosted retail accessibility and trading activity but also produced split‑adjusted volatility and a new adjusted 52‑week low that is weighing on near‑term sentiment.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $250.00 price objective on the business services provider's stock. BTIG Research's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 41.89% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on BKNG. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $216.28 to $187.92 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Booking from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Booking from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $230.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Twenty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.73.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $176.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 1.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50-day moving average is $174.79 and its 200-day moving average is $196.66. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $150.62 and a fifty-two week high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $46.88. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. Booking's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.21, for a total transaction of $204,214.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,288,502.40. The trade was a 4.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.65, for a total transaction of $77,867.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,566,320.05. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,725 shares of company stock valued at $12,571,467. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,055,006,000 after purchasing an additional 23,159 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,685,520,000 after purchasing an additional 6,976 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Booking by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,173,899,000 after buying an additional 128,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox raised its position in shares of Booking by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 732,081 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,920,535,000 after buying an additional 56,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

More Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Completed 25-for-1 stock split — The company executed a 25-for-1 split, reducing the per‑share price from the prior ~$4,000 range to roughly the low‑hundreds, which makes shares more accessible to retail investors and has driven higher intraday trading activity. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to the split — Traders and momentum players are responding to the liquidity and accessibility boost from the split, which is helping shares climb this session. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Conflicting headline moves likely reflect data/quote adjustments — Some outlets reported an extreme intraday percentage move (large negative percent) that appears tied to split-adjusted quotes or feed anomalies rather than an underlying market cap collapse; interpret those extreme percentage figures with caution. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical pressure and 52‑week low — Coverage cites ongoing travel demand headwinds tied to geopolitical tensions (mentioned as the Iran war) and notes the stock hit a 52‑week low on adjusted pricing, which is keeping investor sentiment cautious despite the split. Long‑term investors are being pitched a “buy the dip” thesis, but near‑term downside risk remains tied to travel demand and news flow. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported 52‑week low on exchanges — Several market pages show a new adjusted 52‑week low around the high‑$160s after the split, which can amplify headlines and short‑term selling pressure even as the company’s fundamentals (revenues/profitability) remain separate from the mechanical price reset. Read More.

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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