Booking’s (BKNG) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by analysts at Wedbush in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $3,850.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Wedbush’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.54% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, B. Riley started coverage on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $32.05 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $3,482.75. 91,975 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 262,699. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,543.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,391.38. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $2,456.93 and a fifty-two week high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The company’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $24.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Booking will post 176.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction 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 $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,742,160,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Booking by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,040 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 376,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,336,362,000 after acquiring an additional 15,381 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in Booking by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 275,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $976,096,000 after acquiring an additional 9,419 shares during the period. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 152,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $540,955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. 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.