BTIG Research Reaffirms Buy Rating for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at BTIG Research in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6,250.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 53.31% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BKNG. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5,000.00 price target (down previously from $5,750.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Booking from $6,806.00 to $6,608.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 4th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,971.64.

Booking Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,076.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $129.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21. Booking has a 52-week low of $3,871.01 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5,007.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $5,183.53.

Shares of Booking are set to split on Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.96 by $0.84. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $41.55 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,105.36, for a total transaction of $204,214.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,288,502.40. This represents a 4.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total transaction of $80,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 702 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,124. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,108 shares of company stock worth $15,287,682 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 150.0% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat: BKNG reported Q4 revenue of $6.35B (+16% y/y) and EPS of $48.80, with room nights +9% and gross bookings +16% — strong operating metrics that underpin the stock’s upside. Q4 earnings highlights
• Positive Sentiment: 25-for-1 stock split: management announced a 25-to-1 split effective early April, which increases retail accessibility/liquidity and often supports demand from individual investors. MarketBeat BKNG page (split)
• Positive Sentiment: AI as a productivity lever: management highlighted generative-AI initiatives to improve personalization and conversion, which could be a medium-term margin tailwind if execution scales. Generative AI coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Forward tone: company gave constructive revenue growth guidance for the quarter (revenue growth range above some Street estimates), though currency-adjusted growth and margin cadence bear watching. Guidance & metrics comparison
• Neutral Sentiment: Documentation released: earnings transcript, slide deck and call replay are available for investors who want to dig into unit economics and regional trends. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price-target cuts: multiple firms trimmed targets (examples include Susquehanna, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and others), which pressured sentiment and contributed to recent near-term weakness. Benzinga: price-target cuts / 52-week low
• Negative Sentiment: AI disintermediation fears & insider selling: investors remain concerned that big‑tech AI agents could bypass OTAs and that higher marketing spend may compress near-term margins; CEO share sales in February add a modest negative optics element. Deep dive on AI/marketing impact Read More.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.