Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Has Average Target Price of $222.35 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 36 firms give Booking a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 27 Buy and two Strong Buy ratings; the average 12-month price target is $222.35.
• Some analysts have turned more cautious: Recent firms cut price targets, including Bank of America ($232 to $219) and Wedbush ($247 to $210), while maintaining Buy or Outperform ratings.
• Booking beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, though revenue fell 1.2% year over year. Insiders sold 77,425 shares worth about $16 million over the past three months.

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $222.35.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $188.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $232.00 to $219.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $247.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 77,425 shares of company stock worth $16,004,164. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Booking by 2,674.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,026,348,000 after buying an additional 37,999,915 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1,497.3% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,665,168,000 after buying an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $1,691,186,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $1,370,455,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s AI initiatives are drawing favorable attention. A Seeking Alpha article upgraded its rating, arguing AI could help drive revenue, while CEO Glenn Fogel described AI as a “big positive” for the company. Booking Holdings: AI Proves To Be A Revenue Multiplier (Rating Upgrade) AI is starting to help Booking's business. Its stock should benefit
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated its Buy rating. Separately, Booking-backed Lola launched a service to help members get access to sought-after restaurant reservations and event tickets, with more cities planned. TD Cowen Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Booking Holdings Lola Launches Lola VIP Drops
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent third-quarter results beat Booking’s own guidance on room nights, gross bookings and adjusted revenue, supporting the earlier share rally. These results provide a positive business backdrop, but may be outweighed today by competitive and analyst concerns. Booking Stock Jumps As Q3 Results Spotlight Margin Strength
• Negative Sentiment: Airbnb reported its fastest revenue growth in more than three years and raised its outlook, lifting its shares while Booking and Expedia fell. The news may renew concerns about competition and relative growth prospects in online travel. Airbnb Jumps on Growth and Raised Outlook; Booking and Expedia Fall
• Negative Sentiment: Several analyst actions point to a more cautious view: JPMorgan lowered its expectations, and Barclays and UBS cut their price targets. A downgrade also accompanied coverage of Booking shares, adding to near-term pressure. JPMorgan Lowers Expectations for Booking Barclays Lowers Booking Price Target UBS Cuts Booking Price Target

Booking Stock Down 4.8%

BKNG opened at $160.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.13. Booking has a 52 week low of $146.28 and a 52 week high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.17. Booking had a negative return on equity of 89.54% and a net margin of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $99.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking will post 10.24 earnings per share for the current year.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with accommodations and other travel services. Through its digital platforms, customers can search for and book hotels, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, attractions and other travel experiences.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. Its services span accommodation reservations, travel search and comparison, car rentals, and restaurant reservations.

Booking Holdings traces its history to Priceline, which was founded in 1997.

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