Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Holdings Raised by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 262,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,846 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $42,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 73.3% during the third quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 5,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 2,364 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 7.2% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 116,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,962,000 after buying an additional 7,767 shares during the period. Claro Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 3.0% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 98,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,085,000 after buying an additional 2,903 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Booking by 50.7% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 2,554 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s AI initiatives are drawing favorable attention. A Seeking Alpha article upgraded its rating, arguing AI could help drive revenue, while CEO Glenn Fogel described AI as a “big positive” for the company. Booking Holdings: AI Proves To Be A Revenue Multiplier (Rating Upgrade) AI is starting to help Booking’s business. Its stock should benefit
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated its Buy rating. Separately, Booking-backed Lola launched a service to help members get access to sought-after restaurant reservations and event tickets, with more cities planned. TD Cowen Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Booking Holdings Lola Launches Lola VIP Drops
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent third-quarter results beat Booking’s own guidance on room nights, gross bookings and adjusted revenue, supporting the earlier share rally. These results provide a positive business backdrop, but may be outweighed today by competitive and analyst concerns. Booking Stock Jumps As Q3 Results Spotlight Margin Strength
• Negative Sentiment: Airbnb reported its fastest revenue growth in more than three years and raised its outlook, lifting its shares while Booking and Expedia fell. The news may renew concerns about competition and relative growth prospects in online travel. Airbnb Jumps on Growth and Raised Outlook; Booking and Expedia Fall
• Negative Sentiment: Several analyst actions point to a more cautious view: JPMorgan lowered its expectations, and Barclays and UBS cut their price targets. A downgrade also accompanied coverage of Booking shares, adding to near-term pressure. JPMorgan Lowers Expectations for Booking Barclays Lowers Booking Price Target UBS Cuts Booking Price Target

Booking Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $8.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $160.66. 7,907,758 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,818,136. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $166.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.13. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.28 and a 1 year high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.17. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $99.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 14,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,800,000. The trade was a 6.67% 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, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,425 shares of company stock worth $16,004,164. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $216.00 target price on Booking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.35.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with accommodations and other travel services. Through its digital platforms, customers can search for and book hotels, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, attractions and other travel experiences.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. Its services span accommodation reservations, travel search and comparison, car rentals, and restaurant reservations.

Booking Holdings traces its history to Priceline, which was founded in 1997.