Royal Bank Of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $6,100.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 49.63% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on BKNG. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus upped their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $5,850.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6,250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,971.64.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,076.79 on Thursday. Booking has a one year low of $3,871.01 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The company has a market cap of $129.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5,007.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,183.53.

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

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 128.99% and a net margin of 20.08%.The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $41.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,149.75, for a total transaction of $1,875,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 18,543 shares in the company, valued at $76,948,814.25. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,105.36, for a total value of $204,214.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,108 shares of company stock valued at $15,287,682. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambient Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $311,000. Atmos Capital Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $11,653,000. Wick Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $55,149,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Van Diest Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $1,154,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Booking

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.