Jefferies Recommends These 3 Defensive Stocks Amid Recession and Inflation

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1. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 99

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) provides travel and restaurant online reservation and related services worldwide. Jefferies analysts are bullish on Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) because the company has buyback power and a strong cash position. As of July 14, Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has $4.37 billion in excess free cash flows.

On July 7, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney trimmed his price target on Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) to $2,600 from $3,000 and reiterated a buy-side Outperform rating on the shares. Moreover, on July 14, Truist analyst Naved Khan cut his price target on Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) to $2,600 from $3,000 but maintained a Buy rating on the shares.

At the close of Q1 2022, 99 hedge funds were long Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) with stakes worth $7.58 billion. This is compared to 92 positions in the preceding quarter with stakes worth $7.72 billion.

As of March 31, Harris Associates owns more than 0.66 million shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) and is the largest shareholder in the company. The fund’s stakes were valued at $1.56 billion and the investment covers 2.05% of Harris Associates’ 13F portfolio.

Here is what ClearBridge Investments had to say about Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in its “Large Cap Growth Strategy” first quarter 2022 investor letter:

“Other actions during the quarter included the sale of consumer name Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG). We sold Booking, the owner of online travel agencies Booking.com, Priceline and Kayak, due to its higher exposure to Europe where we believe a rebound in travel will be slowed by the spillover effects of the Ukraine invasion on consumer spending.”

You  can also take a look at 10 Best Defensive Stocks to Buy Today According to Billionaire Ken Fisher and 10 Defensive Stocks in Billionaire Ray Dalio’s Latest Portfolio.

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