Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Upgraded by Erste Group Bank to Buy Rating

Key Points

• Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) has been upgraded to a "buy" rating by Erste Group Bank, indicating increased confidence in the stock's performance.
• Several other research firms have raised their price targets for Booking, with Citigroup setting a target of $6,500.00 and Evercore ISI adjusting theirs to $6,250.00.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, achieving $55.40 EPS against a consensus estimate of $50.32, and reporting a 16% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Erste Group Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BKNG. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $6,200.00 price objective (up from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,781.04.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,536.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $179.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. Booking has a 1 year low of $3,291.80 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The stock's 50-day moving average is $5,573.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5,087.27.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $41.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 521,609.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,887,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,362,892 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 1,411.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 112,201 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $516,900,000 after buying an additional 104,780 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 79.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 154,206 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $695,259,000 after purchasing an additional 68,243 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 182.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 104,643 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $482,081,000 after buying an additional 67,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Booking by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,831,499,000 after acquiring an additional 58,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Company Profile

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.