© Reuters. Booking Holdings and Expedia lifted at Wells Fargo – gross bookings growth estimates achievable
Analysts at Wells Fargo upgraded shares of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:) and Expedia (NASDAQ:) to Equal Weight from Underweight in a note covering its 2024 online travel outlook on Tuesday.
The bank also raised the price target for Booking to $3,459 from $2,402 and Expedia to $159 from $91 per share.
According to analysts at Wells Fargo, based on their top-down analysis, BKNG and EXPE’s solid gross bookings growth estimations are achievable. In addition, the firm noted that their 2023 competitive intensity view did not play out.
The bank’s analysts see global lodging gross bookings rising by 4% to 5% in 2024, with a premium for Booking and Expedia.
Furthermore, Wells Fargo pointed to another outsized year of Asia nights growth for the companies in 2024.
Focusing on Expedia, the firm stated that the company’s “One Key” is less of a material driver to 2024, while it sees meaningful acceleration in its VRBO platform but anticipates it will be offset by slower business-to-business growth in the year.