Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Downgraded by StockNews.com

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

BKNG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Booking in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price target for the company. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,723.41.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $3,415.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $116.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,531.58 and a 200-day moving average of $3,395.06. Booking has a one year low of $2,456.93 and a one year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. Booking’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $24.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking will post 176.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $1,742,160,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Booking by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,040 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Booking by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 376,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,336,362,000 after acquiring an additional 15,381 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in Booking by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 275,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $976,096,000 after acquiring an additional 9,419 shares during the period. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its stake in Booking by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 152,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $540,955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the period. 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.