Wedbush Reaffirms "Outperform" Rating for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Wedbush reaffirmed its "Outperform" rating on Booking and kept a $211 price target, implying about 15.4% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive overall: Booking has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $227.29, despite a few recent mixed rating changes from other firms.
• Booking recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.14 EPS versus $1.08 expected and $5.53 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 16.2% year over year.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by Wedbush in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $211.00 price target on the business services provider's stock. Wedbush's target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.43% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Booking from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Argus set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.29.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $182.80 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $169.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.07. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. Booking's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% 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. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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