Booking’s (BKNG) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by Cantor Fitzgerald in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $3,590.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 14.06% from the company’s previous close.

BKNG has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,177.56 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $141.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,182.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3,773.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,738.53.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Booking will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 49.5% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Booking by 74.4% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 26,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,039,000 after buying an additional 11,315 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,168,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Booking by 19.5% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 8,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,968,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, Ariadne Wealth Management LP bought a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,237,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Booking

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.