Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) was upgraded by stock analysts at Argus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

ABNB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Airbnb from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Airbnb in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Airbnb from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Airbnb in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on shares of Airbnb in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.69.

Airbnb Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of ABNB opened at $124.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15. Airbnb has a 12-month low of $99.88 and a 12-month high of $160.00.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.71 billion. Airbnb had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 20.51%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. Analysts predict that Airbnb will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brian Chesky sold 51,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.16, for a total transaction of $6,719,326.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 45,854 shares in the company, valued at $6,014,210.64. The trade was a 52.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nathan Blecharczyk sold 141,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total transaction of $17,204,043.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,404,979.20. This trade represents a 92.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,027,422 shares of company stock worth $127,060,208. 27.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Airbnb

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Airbnb by 469.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 246,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,509,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Airbnb by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 103,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,103,000 after buying an additional 41,759 shares during the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Airbnb by 232.8% in the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 3,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Airbnb in the fourth quarter worth about $261,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in shares of Airbnb by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 142,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,406,000 after acquiring an additional 31,045 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.76% of the company’s stock.

About Airbnb

Airbnb, Inc (NASDAQ: ABNB) operates a global online marketplace that connects travelers with hosts offering short-term lodging, unique accommodations and related travel experiences. The company’s core platform enables individuals and professional property managers to list private homes, apartments, single rooms and entire properties, while providing search, booking and payment processing for guests. Airbnb earns revenue primarily through service fees charged to guests and hosts and offers tools to facilitate reservations, communications, and logistics between parties.

Beyond accommodations, Airbnb has expanded its product portfolio to include curated experiences led by local hosts, higher-end offerings such as Airbnb Luxe, and programs aimed at enhancing quality and safety like Airbnb Plus.