Royal Bank Of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6,100.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 54.42% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on BKNG. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Booking from $6,400.00 to $5,600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho raised Booking from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer set a $6,000.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Booking from $5,433.00 to $5,407.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Twenty-six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,984.36.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded down $319.84 on Thursday, hitting $3,950.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 287,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 343,773. The company has a market capitalization of $127.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.21. Booking has a 1 year low of $3,880.46 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5,057.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $5,201.54.

Booking’s stock is set to split before the market opens on Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.96 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $41.55 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,191.15, for a total value of $77,867.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,566,320.05. This trade represents a 2.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,105.36, for a total transaction of $204,214.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,502.40. This represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,108 shares of company stock worth $15,287,682 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Booking by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,132,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of Booking by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Booking by 67.3% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $174,893,000 after acquiring an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 339.0% in the 3rd quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

More Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results showed solid top‑line beat and healthy demand: revenue of $6.35B (+16% y/y) and strong gross bookings/room‑night trends that management highlighted as signs of sustained international travel recovery. This underpins optimism about near‑term revenue and margin leverage. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Travel demand metrics reinforced the beat — room nights +9% and gross bookings +16% — supporting the narrative that leisure and international travel momentum remains intact. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management flagged generative AI initiatives to improve personalization and conversion; investors view this as a medium‑term efficiency and revenue tailwind if adoption scales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate action — a 25‑for‑1 stock split was announced, increasing retail accessibility and often lifting sentiment/liquidity ahead of the split execution in April. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts reiterated or raised views: BMO raised its target to $6,200 (outperform) and BTIG reaffirmed a $6,250 buy target — supporting the bullish consensus of many firms. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Forward tone: Booking guided Q1 revenue roughly in the $5.4B–$5.5B range (above some Street estimates), but EPS guidance appeared less clear in initial commentary — revenue tone constructive, earnings clarity pending. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials (transcript/slide deck) and deeper metrics were posted — useful for investors wanting to drill into regional/unit economics and mix. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms trimmed price targets after the print (KeyCorp, Benchmark, JPMorgan, DA Davidson lowered targets from prior levels), which reduces visible upside and can weigh on short‑term sentiment despite “buy/overweight” stances. Read More. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Glenn Fogel disclosed multiple small sales in February. While not unusual for tax/liquidity reasons, insider selling can be read negatively by some investors. Read More.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.