Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

BKNG has been the topic of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $5,850.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $6,500.00 to $5,935.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $6,500.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,845.61.

Booking Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,062.14 on Friday. Booking has a 12-month low of $3,765.45 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4,458.66 and a 200 day moving average of $4,957.14.

Booking’s stock is scheduled 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 closing bell on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $41.55 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,191.15, for a total value of $77,867.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 687 shares in the company, valued at $3,566,320.05. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director directly owned 840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,288,502.40. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,749 shares of company stock valued at $12,571,467. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Company Profile

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.