Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Benchmark from $6,200.00 to $6,400.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Benchmark’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.98% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on BKNG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,443.00 to $5,523.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6,700.00 price objective (up previously from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,750.00 price objective (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Booking from $6,363.00 to $6,743.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6,117.90.

Booking Trading Up 0.1%

BKNG stock opened at $5,080.21 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5,394.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5,384.14. Booking has a 1-year low of $4,096.23 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market cap of $164.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.35.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The business had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $83.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Booking has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total transaction of $352,755.20. Following the sale, the director owned 131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,045.80. This represents a 32.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 625 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,141.53, for a total value of $3,213,456.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $118,162,642.46. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,197 shares of company stock valued at $17,260,963. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 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.