Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its price target on Booking to $220 from $244 but kept an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 28% upside from the prior close.
• Q1 results were mixed: revenue rose ~16% to $5.53 billion, EPS came in at $1.14, and management cut full‑year revenue‑growth guidance with Q2 revenue guidance of about $7.1–7.2 billion, below Street expectations.
• Insiders have been net sellers (CEO Glenn Fogel sold 16,726 shares; ~60,876 shares sold over three months), while institutional investors hold about 92.4% of the stock.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $244.00 to $220.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price suggests a potential upside of 28.01% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $236.80 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. HSBC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $309.84 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on Booking from $240.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.60.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $171.86 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $173.49 and a 200-day moving average of $192.54. Booking has a twelve month low of $150.62 and a twelve month high of $233.58. The firm has a market cap of $136.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS 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 negative return on equity of 128.99% and a net margin of 20.08%.The firm's revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking will post 10.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of Booking 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.21, for a total transaction of $204,214.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,288,502.40. The trade was a 4.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 60,876 shares of company stock valued at $10,559,629. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Booking by 50.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth $179,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines 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)

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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