Cantor Fitzgerald Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its target price decreased by Cantor Fitzgerald from $220.00 to $170.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.93% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.95.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $157.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $118.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $184.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.69. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $220.81.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Booking will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% 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. Insiders sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Booking by 2,674.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,026,348,000 after buying an additional 37,999,915 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth about $1,370,455,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 2,525.5% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,101,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,087,597,000 after acquiring an additional 5,869,459 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.