Benchmark Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) Stock Price

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) had its target price lowered by Benchmark from $178.00 to $155.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ABNB. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Airbnb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Airbnb from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $143.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Airbnb from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Argus raised Airbnb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wedbush cut Airbnb from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Airbnb currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.97.

Airbnb Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABNB opened at $125.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $123.16 and a 200-day moving average of $131.52. Airbnb has a 12 month low of $99.88 and a 12 month high of $163.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.14.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). Airbnb had a return on equity of 32.29% and a net margin of 23.85%. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Airbnb will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Airbnb

In other Airbnb news, CEO Brian Chesky sold 230,772 shares of Airbnb stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.16, for a total value of $37,191,215.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,000,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,067,139.08. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nathan Blecharczyk sold 183,078 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total transaction of $28,926,324.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 164,850 shares in the company, valued at $26,046,300. This trade represents a 52.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,960,385 shares of company stock worth $267,493,266 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 27.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Airbnb

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Airbnb during the 4th quarter valued at $433,374,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Airbnb by 147.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,349,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590,475 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 512.0% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,080,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,577,000 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Airbnb by 74.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,255,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Airbnb by 119.7% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,506,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,991,000 after purchasing an additional 820,887 shares during the last quarter. 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.