Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Rating Lowered to Hold at Argus

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) was downgraded by analysts at Argus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,205.00 to $5,155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,650.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,680.18.

Booking Trading Up 1.6 %

Booking stock traded up $72.86 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $4,749.11. 519,752 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 247,428. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $2,756.39 and a fifty-two week high of $4,856.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,136.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,880.99.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $83.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $77.94 by $5.95. Booking had a net margin of 21.85% and a negative return on equity of 165.63%. The firm had revenue of $7.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.63 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Booking will post 177.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,322,600,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 4,565.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,143,000 after acquiring an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after acquiring an additional 43,743 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Booking by 106.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $282,590,000 after buying an additional 36,710 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in Booking by 2,315.8% in the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 36,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,755,000 after buying an additional 35,270 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Company Profile

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.