Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given “Outperform” Rating at Wedbush

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $3,850.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.48% from the company’s current price.

BKNG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $9.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3,453.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 67,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,832. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,586.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,364.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a 1-year low of $2,456.93 and a 1-year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $24.74 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Booking will post 175.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 64,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $151,044,000 after purchasing an additional 17,432 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Booking by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth $387,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,767,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Booking

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.