Argus Raises Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $205.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Argus from $188.00 to $205.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Argus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.85% from the company’s current price.

BKNG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.14.

Booking Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $169.63 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $173.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.05. Booking has a 52-week low of $150.62 and a 52-week high of $233.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Booking will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,876 shares of company stock valued at $10,559,629. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Booking by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Booking by 25.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in Booking by 50.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the second quarter worth about $179,000. 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: Q1 strength plus AI rollout and record buybacks reinforce growth and capital-return story; company highlighted strong merchant-model revenue but flagged a softer Q2 guide — overall investors are focusing on the strategic AI product push (KAYAK Ask AI) and buybacks as earnings catalysts. Booking Holdings AI Push And Buybacks Meet Mixed Valuation Signals
• Positive Sentiment: Gordon Haskett raised its price target to $220 and maintained a buy rating, signaling analyst confidence in upside from current levels. Booking Given New $220.00 Price Target at Gordon Haskett
• Positive Sentiment: Argus increased its target to $205 and assigned a buy rating, giving additional analyst support for further gains. Booking Given New $205.00 Price Target at Argus
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share (ex-div June 5), adding to shareholder return via dividends on top of buybacks. (Company disclosure)
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO trimmed its target slightly (from $248 to $240) but kept an outperform rating — still a large implied upside, so this is more of a modest model tweak than a negative signal. BMO Capital Adjusts Price Target on Booking
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options trading was reported, which can amplify intraday moves but doesn’t by itself change fundamentals. Monitor for directional flows. Booking Target of Unusually High Options Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative analyst pieces (e.g., Carnival vs. Booking) highlight BKNG’s durable tech-driven scale versus peers — useful context but not an immediate price driver. Carnival vs. Booking
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target to $208, signaling some analyst caution on near-term momentum — adds to mixed guidance interpretation and helps explain some intraday volatility. Booking Price Target Cut to $208 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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.