Booking’s (BKNG) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Piper Sandler

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by analysts at Piper Sandler in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $200.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $215.00. Piper Sandler‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.57% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $247.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Booking from $220.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.90.

Booking Trading Up 10.2%

Booking stock traded up $15.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $171.58. The company had a trading volume of 6,506,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,135,955. The company has a market capitalization of $128.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.17. Booking has a 12-month low of $146.28 and a 12-month high of $220.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $168.99 and its 200-day moving average is $176.70.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.17. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $99.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.06, for a total transaction of $244,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 70,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,479,424. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,800,000. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 77,425 shares of company stock valued at $16,004,164 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Booking by 2,674.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,026,348,000 after buying an additional 37,999,915 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Booking by 1,497.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after buying an additional 816,022 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,691,186,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,370,455,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking reported adjusted earnings of $4.66 per share, above analysts’ estimates, while room nights grew 7% and adjusted EBITDA increased 9%. These operating results offered investors a positive counterpoint to weaker reported figures. Q3 earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: The company is investing in AI-powered booking tools and loyalty programs, and pursuing cost savings. Those initiatives could support future growth and efficiency, though their impact remains to be seen. Earnings call highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms lowered price targets after the results but maintained Buy or Outperform ratings, including B. Riley, Wedbush, Bank of America and Rosenblatt. The revisions temper expectations, while continued positive ratings suggest many analysts still see upside. Analysts cut forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects slower Q4 travel growth amid soft international demand, citing factors including Middle East conflict, higher airfares and European turmoil. A roughly $900 million FTC-related impact also weighed on reported revenue, which declined year over year despite growth in adjusted revenue. FTC-related revenue impact

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant-reservation company that connects consumers with travel providers through digital platforms and mobile applications. Its services include accommodations, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages, restaurant reservations and other travel-related offerings.

The company operates a portfolio of well-known brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and Kayak-associated travel services.