Cantor Fitzgerald’s Top Internet Stocks: Best Stocks To Buy According To $13.2 Billion Firm

18. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q2 2024: 96

Share Price Target Upside: -7%

Cantor’s Rating: Neutral

Cantor’s Share Price Target: $3,519

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) is one of the leaders in the global travel industry space and enjoys brand recognition in consumer travel recommendations and other tertiary services. Its software centered business means that operating margins and volume are key to its hypothesis. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has to ensure that it is competitive in the market with low margins, and continuously develop new products or features to engage, retain, and grow users. On the former front, the firm’s trailing twelve month operating margin is 28.5% which is a cool 17 percentage points higher than its close rival Expedia’s operating margin of 11.2%. This is primarily because Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) enjoys economies of scale, with its revenue being nearly 2x of Expedia’s. The firm has also been introducing AI powered product experiences through Trip Planner, and owing to its vast user base, Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) benefits from access to data to further fine tune its AI features.

Wedgewood Partners mentioned Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in its Q2 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:

“Booking Holdings contributed to performance as travel spending across the U.S. and Europe remains quite healthy, whereas the Company took share in alternative accommodations, and looks set to expand margins after a few years of reinvestment. The Company has also been aggressively reducing its share count at reasonably attractive valuation multiples. Booking should be able to compound earnings at an attractive, double-digit rate for the next few years given these various initiatives.”