Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given New $208.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan cut its price target on Booking from $224 to $208 while keeping an overweight rating, implying about a 19.9% upside; analysts overall maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target near $226.76 despite widespread target trims.
• Booking reported Q1 revenue of $5.53 billion (up 16.2% year-over-year) that slightly beat estimates, but management cut full-year revenue growth guidance to high-single-digits from low-double-digits, citing the Middle East conflict.
• Insider selling has increased (CEO sold 16,726 shares; insiders sold ~60,876 shares worth $10.6M in the last 90 days), and unusual put-option volume plus hedge-fund cuts (e.g., Lone Pine) have amplified near-term negative sentiment.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $224.00 to $208.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the business services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would suggest a potential upside of 19.85% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Gordon Haskett cut their price objective on Booking from $217.60 to $214.80 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered Booking from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $244.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on Booking from $272.00 to $264.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.76.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.54. 9,877,533 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,457,415. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $173.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.54. Booking has a 12 month low of $150.62 and a 12 month high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $27.56 by ($26.42). The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking will post 10.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% 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 60,876 shares of company stock worth $10,559,629 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Booking by 4.2% in the third quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 50 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in Booking by 22.2% in the third quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Booking by 9.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 23 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values Added Financial LLC grew its stake in Booking by 4.8% in the third quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 44 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results showed double‑digit growth in revenue, gross bookings and bookings; EPS and revenue generally beat Street expectations and management highlighted cost savings and conversion benefits from generative AI and record share repurchases. Booking Holdings Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: KAYAK (a Booking brand) launched "Ask AI," a conversational travel planning tool — a product move that supports the company’s AI monetization and customer‑experience thesis. KAYAK Launches Ask AI to Simplify Travel Planning
• Neutral Sentiment: Some sell‑side support remains (several firms reaffirmed Buy/Outperform ratings, including BTIG), leaving analyst sentiment mixed rather than uniformly negative. BTIG Reaffirms Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Management cut full‑year revenue growth guidance to high‑single‑digits (from low‑double‑digits) citing the Middle East conflict, directly weighing on forward expectations. Booking Holdings Cuts Full-Year Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple major brokers trimmed price targets (DA Davidson, HSBC, Citi, Goldman, Mizuho, Deutsche Bank, RBC and others), which increases near‑term selling pressure despite many firms keeping Buy ratings. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on Booking
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large options activity: traders bought ~20,747 put contracts (a ~179% increase vs. normal daily put volume), signaling hedging/speculative bearish interest.
• Negative Sentiment: Hedge‑fund activity: Lone Pine (Stephen Mandel) trimmed its BKNG stake — a high‑profile investor reduction that can amplify negative sentiment. Stephen Mandel Trims Position

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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