Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given “Outperform” Rating at Wedbush

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by equities researchers at Wedbush in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $3,850.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.48% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Ascendiant Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,700.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price target for the company. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,723.41.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $9.58 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3,453.49. The stock had a trading volume of 67,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,832. Booking has a one year low of $2,456.93 and a one year high of $3,918.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,586.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,364.25.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $24.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Booking will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 289 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $1,068,137,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Booking by 3,557.5% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 142,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,870,000 after purchasing an additional 138,279 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Booking by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 295,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,303,000 after purchasing an additional 112,831 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 2,479.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $414,234,000 after purchasing an additional 112,249 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter valued at $401,371,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Booking

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.