Booking’s (BKNG) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Wedbush in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $3,850.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.74% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. B. Riley started coverage on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Booking in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $3,414.82 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,571.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,366.94. The stock has a market cap of $116.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $24.74 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Booking will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 available through this link. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.