HSBC Has Lowered Expectations for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price

Key Points

• HSBC lowered its price target on Booking to $298 (from $309.84) while keeping a "buy" rating, a target the note says implies about a 73.4% upside from the stock's previous close.
• Several other firms have trimmed targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley, Robert W. Baird, Benchmark), yet the analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $228.60, versus the stock's recent price around $171.86.
• Booking reported Q1 revenue up ~16% to $5.53B, but management cut full‑year revenue growth guidance to high‑single digits and set Q2 revenue guidance of about $7.1–7.2B, a clear near‑term headwind versus street expectations.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by HSBC from $309.84 to $298.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the business services provider's stock. HSBC's target price points to a potential upside of 73.40% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett cut their price objective on Booking from $217.60 to $214.80 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Booking from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $246.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on Booking from $256.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.60.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $171.86 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $173.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20. Booking has a 1 year low of $150.62 and a 1 year high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $27.56 by ($26.42). Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Booking will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.21, for a total value of $204,214.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,288,502.40. This represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,876 shares of company stock valued at $10,559,629. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Booking by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,914 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,132,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Booking by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Booking by 229.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 412 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 339.0% during the 3rd quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Booking by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 72,604 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $392,009,000 after acquiring an additional 4,589 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts reaffirm/raise — BTIG reiterated a Buy and set a $250 target, and UBS nudged its target to $260, providing upside and signaling continued analyst conviction. BTIG reaffirmation (Benzinga) UBS raises target (MarketScreener)
• Positive Sentiment: Product/AI initiatives — KAYAK launched "Ask AI" and management highlighted generative-AI assistants that cut costs and boost bookings, supporting longer‑term margin tailwinds. KAYAK Ask AI launch (GlobeNewswire) AI assistants boost (PYMNTS)
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns — Management flagged record share repurchases on the call, which supports shareholder value even as top-line headwinds persist. Earnings highlights / buybacks (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results mixed but resilient — Gross bookings and revenue grew (~16% YoY to $5.5B); non‑GAAP EPS modestly topped some estimates, so fundamentals showed demand resilience despite regional disruption. Q1 results summary (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Small analyst model tweaks — Erste trimmed FY26 EPS slightly (to $10.65) but the consensus remains close; some firms maintained Buy ratings even while adjusting estimates. (Research notes)
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance cut — Management reduced its full‑year revenue-growth outlook from low‑double digits to high‑single digits, citing the Middle East conflict; Q2 revenue guidance of ~$7.1–7.2B trails Street expectations (~$7.6B), a clear near‑term headwind. Outlook cut (WSJ) Press release / slides (Booking)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades/target cuts — Robert W. Baird trimmed its price target to $215 (still Outperform); such downward revisions can cap the stock near term. Baird target cut (The Fly)

About Booking

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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