Booking Holdings Has Potential ‘Massive Upside Catalyst’ – Analyst

China's reopening could be a catalyst for Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) shares, according to Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth.

The analyst told investors in a note Thursday that he is maintaining a Strong Buy rating and a $3,210 per share price target on Booking stock.

BKNG is down 17% in 2022 but gained around 20% in the last three months as positivity regarding the ongoing recovery of the travel sector builds in 2023. However, macroeconomic headwinds still remain.

The analyst said in his research memo that Booking continues to see resilient travel demand that is overcoming the current macroeconomic environment uncertainty. He also explained that the China reopening initiates a “massive upside catalyst” for the stock.

On the other hand, earlier in December, Wolfe Research analyst Deepak Mathivanan downgraded Booking Holdings to Peer Perform from Outperform without a price target.

Mathivanan said in a research note that travel demand will likely moderate due to the macroeconomic slowdown in 2023, and consensus estimates do not yet reflect the magnitude accurately.

He believes Booking will likely be pressured with negative estimate revisions over the next 12 to 18 months, while he is growing concerned about Booking's European exposure and unit economics.

According to TipRanks, out of 19 analysts, 15 have a Buy rating on BKNG, with four assigning the stock a Hold rating. The average price target is $2,377.06, representing a potential 18.6% upside from Thursday's close.