Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Raised to Strong-Buy at TD Cowen

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) was upgraded by equities researchers at TD Cowen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on BKNG. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.98.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $171.40 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $128.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $193.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.13. Booking has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $225.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock worth $17,182,274. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. First Financial Corp IN grew its holdings in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its holdings in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.