Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given New $6,250.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $6,500.00 to $6,250.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on BKNG. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6,250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $6,100.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Gordon Haskett raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,440.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $5,850.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Thursday. Twenty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,976.79.

Booking Trading Down 6.1%

BKNG opened at $4,007.45 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5,032.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,193.24. The stock has a market cap of $129.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. Booking has a 1 year low of $3,871.01 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41.

Shares of Booking are set to split on Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.96 by $0.84. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 127.57%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $41.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,105.36, for a total value of $204,214.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,288,502.40. The trade was a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director owned 702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,124. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,108 shares of company stock valued at $15,287,682. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 400.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its position in Booking by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Booking during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus on revenue and showed healthy travel demand (room nights +9%, gross bookings +16%), supporting longer‑term growth expectations. Q4 earnings highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Management flagged generative AI projects aimed at personalization and conversion — a potential productivity/margin tailwind if execution scales. Generative AI article
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate action: company announced a 25‑for‑1 stock split (shares payable early April), which increases liquidity and retail accessibility — often supportive over time. MarketBeat: Split story
• Neutral Sentiment: Forward tone: management gave constructive revenue guidance for Q1 (~$5.4B–$5.5B) but EPS guidance/detail was unclear in early commentary — revenue outlook helps, but lack of clear EPS guidance leaves some uncertainty. Zacks: guidance coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Documentation posted (earnings transcript, slide deck) for investors who want to dig into regional/unit economics and AI roadmap. Earnings transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction: multiple firms trimmed price targets and some ratings were downgraded or moved to neutral — the re‑ratings (Citigroup, Wells Fargo, KeyBanc, JPMorgan, Benchmark, DA Davidson) amplified selling despite targets still implying upside. Representative coverage of a Citi cut is here. TickerReport: Citigroup PT cut
• Negative Sentiment: AI disintermediation worries: investors fear Big Tech AI (e.g., Google’s travel/agentic features) could siphon bookings and increase marketing spend to retain visibility — a structural risk that prompted some to sell into the beat. MarketBeat: AI concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO filings show February share sales (disclosed Form 4s), which some investors view as a mild negative signal even though holdings remain large. SEC Form 4 (insider transaction)

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.