Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Airbnb shares gapped down significantly to $120.38 after insider selling by director Joseph Gebbia, who sold 236,000 shares at an average price of $129.71, reducing his ownership by 50%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Airbnb; while most analysts rate it as a "Hold," five rate it as a "Sell," reflecting varying confidence in the stock's performance.
• Airbnb's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.03, exceeding expectations with a revenue of $3.10 billion, marking a 12.7% increase year-over-year.

Shares of Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $130.50, but opened at $120.38. Airbnb shares last traded at $121.43, with a volume of 4,078,990 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Director Joseph Gebbia sold 236,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.71, for a total transaction of $30,611,560.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 236,015 shares in the company, valued at $30,613,505.65. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ABNB shares. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Airbnb in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Airbnb from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Airbnb from $165.00 to $145.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Airbnb from $104.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Airbnb from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.77.

Airbnb Stock Down 7.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $76.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.13. The company's 50 day moving average is $135.27 and its 200-day moving average is $131.16.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. Airbnb had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 30.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Airbnb, Inc. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABNB. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in shares of Airbnb by 86.0% in the first quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,944,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,188,024,000 after buying an additional 4,598,125 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Airbnb by 2,297.4% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,801,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $334,715,000 after buying an additional 2,685,026 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Airbnb by 512.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,080,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $404,782,000 after buying an additional 2,577,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Airbnb by 81.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,282,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $500,755,000 after buying an additional 1,916,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Airbnb by 74.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,255,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,924,000 after buying an additional 1,389,251 shares in the last quarter. 80.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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