Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on BKNG. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,350.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $3,110.00 to $2,900.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $2,800.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on Booking from $3,130.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on Booking in a research report on Monday, July 31st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $3,500.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,346.21.

Booking Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $22.69 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $3,157.94. The company had a trading volume of 227,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,681. The company has a market capitalization of $110.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,003.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,893.70. Booking has a 52 week low of $1,899.31 and a 52 week high of $3,251.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.16, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The business services provider reported $72.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $67.85 by $4.47. Booking had a net margin of 25.70% and a return on equity of 840.22%. The business had revenue of $7.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $53.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking will post 147.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 30 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,026.39, for a total value of $90,791.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,203.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 30 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,026.39, for a total transaction of $90,791.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,203.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,124.72, for a total transaction of $781,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,327,020.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,989 shares of company stock worth $15,303,166 in the last 90 days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First National Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in Booking by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. American National Bank boosted its stake in Booking by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 96 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 82 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Company Profile

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.