UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) Stock

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at UBS Group from $143.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential downside of 0.88% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Airbnb from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Airbnb from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Airbnb from $131.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Airbnb from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Airbnb in a report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.79.

Airbnb Stock Performance

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

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.12. Airbnb had a net margin of 16.96% and a return on equity of 32.88%. Analysts forecast that Airbnb will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Airbnb news, Director Joseph Gebbia sold 214,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.95, for a total value of $27,632,050.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,071,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,160,898.50. This trade represents a 16.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Aristotle N. Balogh sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.15, for a total value of $89,705.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 182,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,401,984.10. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,608,005 shares of company stock worth $214,394,023 in the last quarter. 27.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Airbnb

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABNB. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Airbnb by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Airbnb during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,139,000. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Airbnb during the fourth quarter valued at about $936,000. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in shares of Airbnb by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 93,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,338,000 after buying an additional 8,719 shares during the period. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems grew its position in Airbnb by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 60,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,898,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.