Robert Mylod Jr Sells 5,000 Shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Booking Stock Down 4.0%

NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $8.06 on Thursday, hitting $193.24. The stock had a trading volume of 6,837,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,626,957. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.49. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The stock has a market cap of $149.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wedbush started coverage on Booking in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.23.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in 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. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS Group raised its price target for Booking Holdings from $249 to $266 and upgraded the stock to “buy,” implying substantial potential upside from recent levels. The upgrade reflects confidence in Booking’s earnings power and longer-term travel demand. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s Connected Trip strategy, artificial-intelligence investments and broad travel marketplace remain potential growth drivers. Investors are also watching whether the company can maintain strong revenue and earnings momentum following its prior quarter’s revenue growth. Booking Holdings Q2 Earnings Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking is approaching its second-quarter earnings report, with Wall Street focused on bookings, room nights, gross travel bookings, revenue and guidance. The results could increase volatility because investors are looking for evidence that AI and Connected Trip initiatives are translating into measurable growth. Booking Holdings Q2 Earnings Metrics Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect growth to slow in the second quarter as geopolitical tensions disrupt international travel. This creates downside risk if Booking reports weaker-than-expected demand, lower trends in key metrics or cautious forward guidance. Booking Holdings Q2 Earnings Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares valued at $216,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and she retained 16,508 shares, it is unlikely to materially alter the investment outlook. SEC Insider Trading Filing

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.