Trading Booking Holdings After Q2 Fiscal 2024 Performance

Priceline.com was founded in 1997 and rebranded itself as Booking Holdings in 2018 to reflect its diverse range of online travel and related services. Its brands include the leading online travel agency Booking.com, as well as, Priceline.com, Agoda.com, Kayak.com, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable.  

Learn more about Booking Holdings' most recent fiscal second-quarter 2024 performance and what analysts are forecasting for the stock below.

• The Invest.MT5 account allows you to buy real stocks and shares from some of the largest stock exchanges in the world.

All trading is high risk and you can lose more than you risk on a trade. Never invest more than you can afford to lose, as some trades will lose and some trades will win. Start small to understand your own risk tolerance levels or practice on a demo account first to build your knowledge before investing.

Booking Holdings Fiscal Q2 2024 Performance

Here are some of the key highlights from the fiscal second-quarter 2024 earnings report from Booking Holdings: 

• Earnings per share of $41.90 vs $39.39 expected and higher than the $37.62 per share from the same time last year 
• Revenue of $5.9 billion, an increase of 7% from the same time last year 
• Room nights booked increased by 7% from prior year 
• Gross travel bookings of $41.4 billion, up 4% from prior year 
• Net income of $1.5 billion, up 18% from prior year 

Booking Holdings beat analyst expectations and forecasts on most financial metrics. Chief Executive Officer, Glenn Fogel, stated in the earnings call that the "business continued to perform well with room nights, revenue and operating income exceeding prior expectations." 

The tone of the earnings call was markedly different from February's call discussing the fourth-quarter performance and full-year earnings for 2023. In this call, Fogel stated that Spanish regulators were recommending a $530 million fine on suspicions that one of its brands, Booking.com, had violated competition laws. The fine contributed to a $276 million loss in 2023.  

In this earnings call Fogel concentrated on the growth in connected trips, its Genius loyalty program and the potential of generative AI to provide a better booking and travelling experience while benefitting their suppliers.  

However, there are still concerns behind the scenes regarding the regulatory environment in Europe. Earlier this year, the Italian Competition Authority opened an anti-competitive investigation on Booking.com and European lawmakers blocked its acquisition of Etraveli.  

This may weigh on Booking Holdings' growth in Europe with the uncertainty causing some analysts to move to hold rating on the stock, as highlighted below.

Booking Holdings Stock Forecast - What do the Analysts Say?

According to analysts polled by TipRanks for a Booking Holdings stock forecast in the past 3 months, there are currently 20 buy, 6 hold and 0 sell ratings on the stock. The highest price level for a Booking Holdings stock forecast is $4,700.00 with the lowest price target at $3,750.00. 

The average price target for a Booking Holdings stock forecast is $4,163.00.

An Example Trading Idea for the Booking Holdings Stock Price

An example trading idea for the Booking Holdings share price could be as follows:  

• Buy the stock on a break above $3,475.00 to allow for volatility. 
• Target just below the highest analyst price target of $4,700.00. 
• Keep your risk small at a maximum of 5% of your total account.   
• Time Line = 1 – 6 months  
• If you buy 10 Booking Holdings shares:  
• If target is reached = $12,250.00 potential profit [($4,700.00 - $3,475.00) * 10 shares].

Remember that markets go up and down and it is unlikely the share price will move up in a straight line. In fact, it may even go much further down before it rises, especially as European regulators weigh on the company's growth prospects and the share price has been trending lower in recent weeks.

Be sure to exercise good risk management and always know how much you could potentially lose on a trade and the risks involved, as well as the costs.

With the Admirals Invest.MT5 account you can buy and sell US stocks with a commission from $0.02 per share. This means buying 10 shares in Booking Holdings stock would result in a commission of $0.20 ($0.02 * 10 shares) for executing a per-side transaction.

However, there is a low minimum transaction fee of $1. So, the example trading idea above would result in a commission of just $1 overall.

How to Buy Booking Holdings Stock in 4 Steps  

With Admirals, you can buy shares with a commission of just $0.02 per share and a low minimum commission of just $1 on US stocks. 

1. Open an account with Admirals to access the dashboard.   
2. Click on Trade on one of your live or demo accounts to open the web platform.   
3. Search for your stock in the search window at the top right to view the live price chart. 
4. Click Create New Order from the bottom of the screen to open the trading ticket. 

Click on the banner below to trade Booking Holdings stock today ▼▼▼ 

Do You See the Booking Holdings Stock Price Moving Differently?   

Remember that all analytics and trading ideas are based on the personal view and experience of the author.

If you believe there is a higher chance Booking Holdings share price will move lower, then you can also trade short from a CFD trading account which Admirals also provide.

The Trade.MT5 and Trade.MT4 account allows you to speculate on the price direction of stocks and shares using CFDs.

This means you can trade long and short to potentially profit from rising and falling stock prices.

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