Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $214.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on Booking from $215 to $214 and maintained an "equal weight" rating, implying roughly an 18.83% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $234.47, even as several firms have recently trimmed targets while others have upgraded or reiterated ratings.
• Booking reported a quarterly earnings beat (EPS $48.80 vs. $1.92 expected) and revenue of $6.35B (vs. $6.12B expected), but shares trade near $180 and insiders have sold about 68,725 shares (~$12.6M) over the past 90 days.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $215.00 to $214.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the business services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential upside of 18.83% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BKNG. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $256.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Booking from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.47.

Booking Stock Up 1.6%

BKNG stock traded up $2.83 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $180.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,013,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,774,383. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $172.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.18. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $150.62 and a fifty-two week high of $233.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.20.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $46.88. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.12 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.21, for a total transaction of $204,214.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,288,502.40. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,725 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $2,871,414.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 314,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,063,291.60. The trade was a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 68,725 shares of company stock worth $12,571,467 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 150.0% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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