Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to Neutral Rating

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $153.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $110.00.

Several other research firms have also commented on ABNB. Phillip Securities reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Airbnb in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Airbnb to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird raised Airbnb from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $175.00 in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Airbnb from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Airbnb from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Airbnb presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.79.

Airbnb Stock Up 14.4 %

Airbnb stock opened at $161.42 on Friday. 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. Airbnb has a 52 week low of $110.38 and a 52 week high of $170.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $133.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.73 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Airbnb will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Airbnb news, CEO Brian Chesky sold 190,301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.51, for a total transaction of $26,739,193.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,231,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,718,674,059.35. This trade represents a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO David C. Bernstein sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total value of $137,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,559,597. This trade represents a 2.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,608,005 shares of company stock worth $214,394,023. 27.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Airbnb

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Verde Capital Management increased its stake in Airbnb by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 21,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Airbnb in the third quarter valued at $34,982,000. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Airbnb in the third quarter valued at $6,352,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Airbnb by 86.5% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 2,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Airbnb by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 685,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,123,000 after buying an additional 197,558 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.