** Online travel agency Booking Holdings BKNG.O beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit and revenue on Tuesday, as international bookings offset weak travel spending in the U.S.

BOOKINGS TO STAY STRONG

** J.P.Morgan ("overweight," PT: $6250) says BKNG is the best-positioned in the online travel segment amid potential macro pressures and remains positive on its ability to drive multi-year earnings growth

** Evercore ISI ("outperform," PT: $6250) says "BKNG remains the highest quality Online Travel Stock" due to its broad geographic exposure, resilient travel market and high margins

** Piper Sandler ("neutral," PT: $5750) says they remain cautious on the online travel agency sector as a whole, primarily due to tepid demand from the U.S. consumer; adds BKNG is its most preferred in the sector

** Truist Securities ("hold," PT: $5630) expects steady global travel demand excluding U.S. and raised FY guidance to balance out macro-driven sluggishness in the third quarter

** Morningstar (fair value: $4800) says co is leveraging its data and financial position to train large language models for specific use cases across its platform to keep up with the AI revolution

(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty in Bengaluru)

((Kanchana.Chakravarty@thomsonreuters.com))