Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) Raised to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

ABNB has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Airbnb from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Airbnb from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Airbnb to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Airbnb from $121.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Airbnb from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Airbnb presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.79.

Airbnb Stock Performance

NASDAQ ABNB opened at $161.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $102.34 billion, a PE ratio of 56.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.12. Airbnb has a 52-week low of $110.38 and a 52-week high of $170.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.11.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.12. Airbnb had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 16.96%. On average, research analysts predict that Airbnb will post 3.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Airbnb

In related news, insider Nathan Blecharczyk sold 9,603 shares of Airbnb stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.22, for a total value of $1,250,502.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 164,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,466,767. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph Gebbia sold 214,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total transaction of $28,088,477.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,876.68. This trade represents a 95.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,608,005 shares of company stock worth $214,394,023. Company insiders own 27.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Airbnb

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ABNB. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 6,085.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,241,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,872,000 after acquiring an additional 4,172,985 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Airbnb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $433,374,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Airbnb by 147.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,349,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590,475 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP bought a new position in Airbnb in the third quarter worth $160,985,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Airbnb by 174.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,866,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,268,000 after buying an additional 1,185,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.76% of the company’s stock.

About Airbnb

Airbnb, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a platform that enables hosts to offer stays and experiences to guests worldwide. The company’s marketplace connects hosts and guests online or through mobile devices to book spaces and experiences. It primarily offers private rooms, primary homes, and vacation homes.