Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Booking from $6,500.00 to $6,600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas set a $6,100.00 price target on Booking in a report on Monday, November 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $6,150.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,149.23.

Booking Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,440.14 on Friday. Booking has a 12-month low of $4,096.23 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,107.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5,370.20.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $83.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,800,000. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total value of $80,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,124. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,324 shares of company stock valued at $17,193,557. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in shares of Booking by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 3,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,592,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,445,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP grew its holdings in Booking by 133.7% during the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 1,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,491,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, AMS Capital Ltda bought a new stake in Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,881,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.