Susquehanna Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its target price dropped by analysts at Susquehanna from $6,500.00 to $5,000.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “positive” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Susquehanna’s price target suggests a potential upside of 24.77% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on BKNG. UBS Group set a $6,485.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,920.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Booking from $5,800.00 to $5,600.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,931.33.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,007.45 on Friday. Booking has a 52 week low of $3,871.01 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5,032.06 and a 200-day moving average of $5,193.24.

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,191.15, for a total transaction of $77,867.25. Following the sale, the director owned 687 shares in the company, valued at $3,566,320.05. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,502.40. This represents a 4.55% decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $3,271,041,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 578,824.0% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,675,765,000 after purchasing an additional 289,412 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Booking by 28,353.8% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 204,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,083,000 after purchasing an additional 203,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 862.0% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,890,000 after purchasing an additional 195,411 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat estimates: revenue $6.35B (+16% y/y) and EPS topped consensus, showing healthy demand and margin expansion. BKNG Q4 earnings highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Travel recovery metrics look solid — room nights +9% and gross bookings +16% — supporting continued revenue growth. WSJ: Booking sales & profit rise
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate action: Booking announced a 25-for-1 stock split (effective early April), which should improve retail accessibility/liquidity and can support demand over time. MarketBeat: Booking split
• Positive Sentiment: Management is deploying generative AI to improve personalization and conversion — a potential medium-term productivity/margin tailwind if execution scales. Seeking Alpha: Booking uses generative AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance and materials: Q1 revenue guide was constructive (~$5.4B–$5.5B) but EPS guidance was unclear in early commentary; transcript and slide deck were posted for further detail. Zacks: Q4 metrics vs. estimates Earnings transcript
• Negative Sentiment: AI disruption fears: investors worry big‑tech agentic AI (e.g., Google) and hotel chains making direct AI deals could disintermediate Booking’s distribution/margin model — a major source of selling pressure. Globe and Mail deep dive on AI concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts trimming targets: multiple firms lowered price targets or flagged AI/marketing risks (Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, KeyCorp, Benchmark, DA Davidson, etc.), amplifying downside pressure despite buy/overweight ratings from others. Benzinga: Why BKNG hit 52-week low
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Glenn Fogel disclosed share sales in February; while not unusual for executives, it’s being watched by some investors as a negative signal. SEC Form 4 (insider sale)

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.