Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, B. Riley Analyst Says

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price target raised by analysts at B. Riley from $4,650.00 to $5,100.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. B. Riley’s target price points to a potential upside of 9.26% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, October 7th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,950.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Booking in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 target price on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,464.29.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock traded up $203.82 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $4,667.75. The stock had a trading volume of 346,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,341. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,100.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,866.59. The stock has a market cap of $156.46 billion, a PE ratio of 32.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a 52-week low of $2,756.13 and a 52-week high of $4,856.60.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $83.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $77.94 by $5.95. The firm had revenue of $7.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.63 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Booking will post 177.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,954,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,718,390,000 after acquiring an additional 12,456 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Booking by 4.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 514,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,865,949,000 after purchasing an additional 21,969 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in Booking by 3.1% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 358,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,421,069,000 after purchasing an additional 10,889 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Booking by 29.2% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $702,049,000 after purchasing an additional 43,743 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Booking by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 159,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $584,492,000 after buying an additional 28,904 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.