B. Riley starts ‘best-of-breed’ Booking Holdings with Buy rating

B. Riley last night initiated coverage of Booking Holdings with a Buy rating and $4,400 price target. The firm’s positive view on the stock is supported by the company’s prospects for sustained above-market growth rates, margin expansion, and efficient capital allocation, with a sizable share buyback contributing to earnings growth. The analyst believes Booking’s “best-of-breed” selection and expanding product offering, large audience, global reach, and growing mix of direct traffic are key competitive advantages that will enable the company to sustain healthy growth rates and share gains for the foreseeable future. It finds the stock’s risk/reward profile as attractive.