Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on BKNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson increased their target price on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. Booking has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,337.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $4,779.09 and its 200-day moving average is $4,733.69. The stock has a market cap of $152.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.