We recently published a list of 15 Highest-Priced Stocks Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) stands against other highest-priced stocks right now.
2024 was a blockbuster year for the US markets, with the broad market index up 23.31% during the year, after rising 24.2% in the year prior. The two-year gain of 53% is the best performance for the index since the 66% rally between 1997 and 1998.
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The market benefited from declining interest rates, waning inflation, and a resilient economy that avoided recession. While analysts have projected continued growth in 2025, they are also cautious about the rally having gone too far with a correction in the offing this year. Fears of fierce trade wars and geopolitical conflicts could also hurt the stock market.
Over the past few weeks, President Trump has announced and then delayed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, imposed additional 10% tariffs on Chinese goods, and warned the European Union of similar treatment, citing the bloc’s treatment of the U.S. The new administration’s protectionist policies have sparked concerns in the markets about which countries will be next on the American president’s list, leaving several large multinationals unsure of how to plan.
According to analysts at Goldman Sachs Research, index earnings could drop by 2-3% if the US goes ahead with its proposed tariffs. Financial markets have been turbulent amid ongoing tariff negotiations between Washington and its major trade partners. Here is what chief equity strategist, David Kostin, wrote in a recent report.
“If company managements decide to absorb the higher input costs, then profit margins would be squeezed. If companies pass along the higher costs to end customers, then sales volumes may suffer. Firms may try to push back on their suppliers and ask them to absorb part of the cost of the tariff through lower prices.”
Analysts at the investment banking firm have also warned that protectionist policies driving up the value of the U.S. Dollar could further pressure the earnings of several companies, especially those that derive a significant portion of their revenues outside the United States.
Time will tell whether the Trump administration implements the tariffs or reaches a compromise with its trade partners, and how the markets react if the export taxes are imposed. However, if past trends are anything to go by, the broad market index dropped by a total of 5% on days when the U.S., under Trump’s first stint as president, announced tariffs in 2018 and 2019. The index fell by a cumulative 7% when other countries imposed retaliatory tariffs.
Methodology
We went through screeners to identify the highest-priced stocks as of the close of the day on Friday, February 14, 2025 and ranked them in ascending order of their share price.
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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A fast-paced travel agent making a bookings for a family vacation package.
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)
Share Price on February 14: $5,044.40
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) provides travel and restaurant reservations online, along with other related services. It owns and operates several renowned platforms, including Booking.com, Agoda, Kayak, and OpenTable.
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) recently announced a strategic partnership with Antom, a leading provider of merchant payment and digitization services, to improve the payment experience for its Asian customers. The partnership will leverage Antom’s cross-border payment capabilities and multi-currency offerings to offer a more tailored customer experience for Booking.com users.
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) is among the highest-priced stocks right now, with its share price delivering impressive returns of 35% over the past year. Investor optimism in the stock continues to strengthen as international travel returns to pre-pandemic levels.
During its recent Q3 2024 earnings call, the company reported an 8% year-over-year increase in room nights booked. Total revenue for the quarter was $8 billion, up 9% from last year, while the net income of $2.5 billion remained in line with the prior year’s results. Gross travel bookings were $43.4 billion, growing 9% compared to Q3 2023.
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.
Wall Street analysts remain bullish on Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) with a consensus Buy rating. According to Insider Monkey’s database for Q3 2024, 93 hedge funds held a stake in the company, reflecting the strong investor sentiment.
Overall, BKNG ranks 3rd on our list of highest-priced stocks right now. While we acknowledge the potential of conglomerate holding companies, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. 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.