Benchmark Upgrades Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) to “Buy”

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Benchmark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a $4,700.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Benchmark’s target price suggests a potential upside of 19.40% from the stock’s current price.

BKNG has been the topic of several other research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,961.63.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $3,936.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $133.56 billion, a PE ratio of 29.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Booking has a one year low of $2,733.04 and a one year high of $4,040.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3,840.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,652.78.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $11.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Booking will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total transaction of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,021 shares of company stock valued at $3,617,852 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.