Booking Holdings' Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Analysts Bullish on Long-Term Fundamentals

Mizuho's James Lee raised their price target on Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) by 9.6% from $3,265 to $3,580 on 2023/08/07. The analyst maintained their Strong Buy rating on the stock.

Lee's decision to raise the price target comes after Booking Holdings reported strong Q2 2023 earnings, beating both revenue and EPS estimates. The company reported EPS of $37.62, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $28.84 and showing a significant increase of 97% compared to Q2 2022's $19.08. Additionally, Booking Holdings reported revenue of $5.46 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.13 billion and marking a 27% increase compared to Q2 2022's $4.29 billion.

The positive earnings report, combined with management's Q3 and FY 2023 guidance, led Lee to believe that Booking Holdings' long-term fundamentals remain attractive. Lee cited the company's dominance in Europe and continued expansion in the U.S. as factors contributing to its strong position in the market.

CEO Glenn Fogel expressed optimism about the future, stating, "We have seen these strong trends continue into 2023/07, and we are currently preparing for what we expect to be a record summer travel season in Q3." Fogel also mentioned the recent announcement of generative AI-enabled travel assistants at both Priceline and Booking.com, expressing excitement about learning which elements customers value the most.

In addition to Mizuho's James Lee, JMP Securities's Nicholas Jones also issued an update on BKNG on 2023/08/07. Jones raised the price target by 20%, from $3,000, and maintained a Buy rating on the stock.

Looking at the overall analyst sentiment, 76.9% of top-rated analysts currently rate BKNG as a Strong Buy or Buy, while 23.1% see it as a Hold. Notably, no analysts recommend or strongly recommend selling the stock.

The consensus forecast among analysts is that BKNG's upcoming year will deliver earnings per share (EPS) of $132.76. This represents a 14.6% increase on a year-over-year basis if the analysts' predictions prove accurate.

Considering the stock's performance, BKNG has seen a 7.9% increase in its stock price since the latest quarterly report on 2023/08/03. On a year-over-year basis, the stock has surged by 57.3%. During this period, BKNG has outperformed the S&P 500, which has seen an 8.8% increase.

Mizuho analyst James Lee boasts an impressive track record and is ranked in the top 2% of Wall Street analysts by WallStreetZen. With an average return of 17.5% and a win rate of 64.9%, Lee specializes in the Consumer Cyclical and Industrials sectors, among others.

Booking Holdings Inc., formerly known as The Priceline Group Inc., is a global provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The company operates various platforms, including Booking.com, Rentalcars.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and OpenTable, catering to different aspects of the travel industry. Additionally, Booking Holdings offers travel-related insurance products and restaurant management services.

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