In this article, we discuss the top 5 stocks to buy according to billionaire Steve Cohen. If you want our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to the Top 10 Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Steve Cohen.
5. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)
Point72 Asset Management’s Stake Value: $252,789,000
Percentage of Point72 Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 1.11%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 96
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) is a travel technology company that owns and manages multiple travel fare aggregators and travel metasearch engines, operating across 200 countries. Billionaire Steve Cohen owns 106,488 Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) shares as of Q3 2021, increasing his stake in the company by 23%. The stock accounts for 1.11% of Cohen’s Q3 portfolio.
RBC Capital analyst Brad Erickson on December 16 upgraded Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) to Outperform from Sector Perform with an unchanged $2,700 price target. The analyst stated that consensus underappreciated Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s structurally higher profitability as compared to pre-pandemic levels, also citing its minimal exposure to the “subtle direct booking trend” that his U.S. property manager checks are detecting. Erickson also believes that Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) may see increased market share in the U.S.
In the third quarter earnings report published by Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) on November 3, the company posted an EPS of $37.70, beating estimates by $4.67. Revenue over the period jumped 77.12% year-over-year to $4.68 billion, outperforming estimates by $385.44 million.
Of the 96 hedge funds that were long Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) as of Q3 2021, Harris Associates is the largest company stakeholder, with 668,053 shares worth $1.58 billion.
Here is what L1 Capital has to say about Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:
“We reinvested the proceeds from our successful investment in Thermo Fisher in Booking Holdings (Booking). Booking was an investment in the Fund at Inception and was featured in our inaugural June 2019 Quarterly Report. The company owns the world’s largest online travel agent (OTA), Booking.com. To say the past 2.5 years has been volatile for Booking is a major understatement. Booking’s management has had to address the COVID-19-driven collapse in demand for travel accommodation, as well as to manage volatile demand as the world gradually recovers, interrupted by second and third waves of COVID-19 as variants arise.
Throughout these volatile market conditions, Booking’s management has executed against a consistent strategy, investing in its platform and network of accommodation providers, and expanding its associated services while improving efficiencies. We believe Booking will come out of the COVID-19 environment a stronger business, with less competition and consumers more predisposed to booking their travel accommodation online. Travel is recovering strongly as vaccination rates increase and COVID-19 related restrictions are lifted, and we expect Booking’s earnings and cash flow to also recover strongly over the coming years.”
