Sanford C. Bernstein Has Lowered Expectations for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $5,407.00 to $4,698.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.39% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,100.00 to $6,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $6,600.00 to $6,000.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Booking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $6,150.00 to $5,500.00 in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $6,250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Booking from $5,600.00 to $4,500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,845.61.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,217.71 on Wednesday. Booking has a 1 year low of $3,765.45 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The company has a market cap of $133.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4,687.59 and its 200 day moving average is $5,061.74.

Booking’s stock is going 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $41.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was 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 directly owned 702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,124. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the firm’s 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 value of $204,214.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,502.40. This represents a 4.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,108 shares of company stock worth $15,287,682. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,055,006,000 after buying an additional 23,159 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its stake in Booking by 191,965.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Booking by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,685,520,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Booking by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,173,899,000 after acquiring an additional 128,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 854,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,936,132,000 after purchasing an additional 9,333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho Securities reaffirmed a Buy rating on BKNG, which supports near-term investor confidence and suggests upside from Mizuho’s view. Mizuho Reaffirms Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Feature pieces (e.g., 247WallSt) profile Booking as a “platform” business that’s delivering revenue growth, expanding margins and beating estimates — framing BKNG as potentially undervalued and attractive for growth investors. Platform Plays Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and Yahoo have run “what to know” / trending-stock pieces on BKNG that increase visibility among retail investors but do not add new fundamental data — these can drive short-term interest/volatility without changing the company outlook. Zacks/Yahoo Trending Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports of a “large increase in short interest” show anomalous data (reported short interest = 0 shares, NaN change). The flagged short-interest items appear unreliable — monitor official exchange short-interest releases for confirmation before drawing conclusions.
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein cut its price target from $5,407 to $4,698 and moved to a Market Perform rating, narrowing upside and signaling more cautious expectations from a well-followed sell-side shop. Bernstein PT Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary (MarketWatch, Zacks/Yahoo recaps) highlights that BKNG has underperformed peers and the broader market in recent sessions, which can pressure sentiment and trigger short-term selling. Underperformance Coverage

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.