Argus Raises Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $245.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Argus from $210.00 to $245.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Argus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.30% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BKNG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Booking Trading Down 1.8%

BKNG stock opened at $210.65 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.36. The company has a market capitalization of $158.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.07. Booking has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Booking will post 10.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,100,500. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold a total of 69,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,075 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Booking by 3,550.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.