Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

BKNG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Booking from $3,855.00 to $4,285.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 28th. Ascendiant Capital Markets upped their price objective on Booking from $3,700.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

Booking Trading Up 0.1 %

Booking stock opened at $3,586.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3,596.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,349.31. Booking has a 1-year low of $2,456.93 and a 1-year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $24.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking will post 175.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CFO David I. Goulden sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,494.47, for a total value of $3,494,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,657,571.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Booking news, CFO David I. Goulden sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,494.47, for a total value of $3,494,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,657,571.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,497.80, for a total value of $97,938.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 348 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,234.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,467 shares of company stock valued at $22,299,114 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.