Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Director Robert Mylod, Jr. Sells 5,000 Shares

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Booking Stock Down 4.0%

Booking stock traded down $8.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $193.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,837,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,626,957. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $174.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS Group raised its price target for Booking Holdings from $249 to $266 and upgraded the stock to “buy,” implying substantial potential upside from recent levels. The upgrade reflects confidence in Booking’s earnings power and longer-term travel demand. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s Connected Trip strategy, artificial-intelligence investments and broad travel marketplace remain potential growth drivers. Investors are also watching whether the company can maintain strong revenue and earnings momentum following its prior quarter’s revenue growth. Booking Holdings Q2 Earnings Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking is approaching its second-quarter earnings report, with Wall Street focused on bookings, room nights, gross travel bookings, revenue and guidance. The results could increase volatility because investors are looking for evidence that AI and Connected Trip initiatives are translating into measurable growth. Booking Holdings Q2 Earnings Metrics Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect growth to slow in the second quarter as geopolitical tensions disrupt international travel. This creates downside risk if Booking reports weaker-than-expected demand, lower trends in key metrics or cautious forward guidance. Booking Holdings Q2 Earnings Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares valued at $216,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and she retained 16,508 shares, it is unlikely to materially alter the investment outlook. SEC Insider Trading Filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore set a $245.00 target price on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Piper Sandler set a $195.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wedbush started coverage on Booking in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.23.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Booking by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 25 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 52 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,591,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its position in Booking by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,272,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by 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.