We recently published a list of 10 Best Performing Large Cap Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) stands against other best performing large cap stocks to buy according to analysts.
Q4 2024 Market Performance Overview
On January 6, Pathstone released its quarterly Flash Report for Q4 2024. The report highlighted several key trends and challenges for the financial markets. It highlighted that despite some volatility towards the end of the quarter in December, the US equity market continued to outperform the international markets, particularly led by the large-cap stocks. Large-cap stocks gained 7.1% during the fourth quarter, driven by strong economic fundamentals, including robust labor market data and high consumer spending during the holiday season. On the other hand, the continued strength of the USD and the persistent inflation led to a decline in other developed markets internationally.
In comparison to the large-cap stocks, small-caps faced significant challenges, experiencing a sharp monthly decline of 8.3% in December, though the sector managed a slight quarterly gain of 0.3%. As per the report, this underperformance was partly due to policy uncertainty and rising long-term yields, which dampened expectations for smaller companies. The fixed-income market also struggled, with long-term Treasury bonds declining by 9.7% for the quarter as the 10-year Treasury yield increased to 4.6%. Moreover, while elaborating on the labor market quarterly performance, the report highlighted that the US labor market demonstrated resilience in November, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 227,000 jobs, surpassing expectations of 200,000. This growth marked a significant recovery from October’s numbers, which were affected by hurricanes and strikes. Although the unemployment rate increased to 4.2%, the labor market showed fundamental strength despite higher interest rates.
One of the key market trends that have helped large-cap growth stocks is the strength of the American consumer market. Consumer spending was exceptionally strong during the holiday season, breaking previous records across both traditional retail and online channels. However, regardless Inflation remains a significant concern as the Consumer Price Index reached 2.7% in November, above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Persistent inflationary pressures are influencing the Fed’s monetary policy approach, leading to a more cautious stance on future rate cuts. Lastly, the report highlights that the economic landscape ahead presents a complex mix of resilience and risk. While the labor market and spending provide a solid foundation to the market persistent inflation, higher interest rates, and policy uncertainty pose potential challenges.
Our Methodology
To curate the list of 10 best-performing large-cap stocks to buy according to analysts, we used the Finviz stock screener to get an aggregated list of stocks. Using the screener we aggregated a list of large-cap stocks that have performed positively over the past year and analysts still see upside potential over the next 12 months. Next, we cross-checked the performance and analyst upside potential of each stock from CNN and ranked these stocks in ascending order of analysts’ upside potential. We have also added the number of hedge funds holding each stock, sourced from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database. Please note that the data was collected on February 28th, 2025.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A fast-paced travel agent making a bookings for a family vacation package.
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)
1-Year Performance: 44.02%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 99
Analyst Upside Potential: 15.13%
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) helps people plan and book their trips and dining experiences online. It operates through several well-known brands including Bookings.com, Priceline.com, Agoda.com, KAYAK, and OpenTable. On February 24, DA Davidson raised the price target on the stock from $5,005 to $5,800 and kept a Buy rating. The firm noted that the fiscal fourth quarter results presented a substantial upside in comparison to the market consensus. Moreover, the firm also liked the 13% room night growth, which was driven by growth across all regions.
In addition, Cooper Investors Global Equities Fund in their Q4 2024 investor letter mentioned that Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) was one of their largest contributors to returns. The fund also noted that it is a leading platform larger than two of its leading competitors combined in terms of room nights booked. Moreover, the operations trends also continue to benefit from the tailwinds coming from increased global travel. During the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024, the company grew its gross bookings by 17% and revenue by 14%, both metrics came in above the high end of management’s guidance. It is one of the best-performing large-cap stocks to buy according to analysts.
Cooper Investors Global Equities Fund stated the following regarding Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“The largest contributors to returns were Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) and Liberty Formula One (FWONK). BKNG is the leading global travel platform (larger than Airbnb and Expedia combined on an annual room nights booked basis). Operating trends continue to be strong driven by tailwinds from global travel demand and new CFO Ewout Steenbergen finding cost efficiencies following a period of investment. This resulted in third quarter revenue growth of 9% driving Earnings Per Share growth of 16%, a run rate we believe is now sustainable for the business. BKNG has been a highly successful investment, delivering returns of 130% since our first investment in December 2022. But going forward we see less value latency and have consequently begun to redeploy capital into more compelling opportunities.”
Overall, BKNG ranks 8th on our list of best performing large cap stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of BKNG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BKNG but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.