Booking Holdings Gets Massive PT Hikes After Smashing Q4 Earnings: Retail Sentiment Jumps

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) were in the spotlight on Friday as the online travel company was showered with a number of price target hikes following its better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings, lifting retail sentiment.

BMO Capital analyst Naved Khan raised the price target to $5,900 from $5,155 after its Q4 release, The Fly reported, citing the firm’s “positive” view of the company’s performance on its Q4 gross bookings and room nights growth.

TD Cowen analyst Kevin Kopelman raised the price target to $6,500 from $6,300 with a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares. Kopelman highlighted the quarter's share gains and its $28 billion stock buyback authorization the company announced.

Meanwhile, Evercore ISI bumped up the price target by $200 with analyst Mark Mahaney keeping an ‘Outperform’ rating based on what he termed as "very strong Beat & Bracket Q4 results."

UBS analyst Stephen Ju raised the price target to $5,960 from $5,560 with a ‘Buy’ rating, stating the company continues to grow faster and likely at the expense of its competitors.

The analyst cited the 13% year-over year growth in its room nights, and its guidance. UBS sees room for more upward revisions to estimates through 2025 driven by factors that are within its management’s control such as Connected Trip, and the Genius Loyalty program.

Booking Holdings said it repurchased $1.1 billion of stock under its authorized stock repurchase program in the fourth quarter of 2024, with its total remaining stock repurchase authorization standing at $7.7 billion as of December 31, 2024.

In January, the company authorized a program to repurchase up to an additional $20 billion of its common stock.

For Q4, Booking’s revenue grew 14% to $5.47 billion, surpassing expectations of $5.18 billion. Earnings per share came in at $41.55, beating estimates of $36.08, according to Stocktwits data.

“We had a period of high inflation very recently, yet people continued to travel an awful lot,” Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings reportedly said. “Now perhaps, people are getting used to that price level, and it’s no longer a sticker shock.”

Sentiment on Stocktwits improved to 'extremely bullish' from 'bullish' a week ago. Message volume jumped to 'extremely high' from 'normal.'

One commenter on Stocktwits thought the company’s price was too high for ordinary investors, suggesting a forward split may make it more accessible.

Booking Holdings travel brands include Booking.com, KAYAK, Priceline, Agoda, Rentalcars.com, and OpenTable.

Booking Holdings stock is up 0.5% year-to-date.

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