Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

BKNG has been the subject of several other reports. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Up 1.2 %

BKNG traded up $58.44 during trading on Monday, hitting $5,049.08. 350,182 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 274,688. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.18, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,901.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4,580.38. Booking has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.60% and a net margin of 24.78%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking will post 207.62 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.