Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $4,692.00 to $5,411.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the business services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential downside of 6.96% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on BKNG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,415.00.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $99.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5,815.92. 175,956 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,531. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,379.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4,974.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,820.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.58% and a negative return on equity of 143.67%. The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $20.39 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total value of $5,425,698.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,073,911.22. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Booking by 300.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 8 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.