Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 67,081 Shares of Airbnb, Inc. $ABNB

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC increased its Airbnb stake by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 67,081 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 431,905 shares valued at about $58.6 million.
• Several major investors also boosted their positions, and institutional ownership remains high at 80.76% of Airbnb’s stock, indicating strong participation from hedge funds and large asset managers.
• Despite analyst support and revenue growth, Airbnb has faced recent pressure from insider stock sales and rising short interest; CEO Brian Chesky and Director Joseph Gebbia both sold large blocks of shares, while the latest earnings report missed EPS expectations.

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB - Free Report) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 431,905 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 67,081 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Airbnb worth $58,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 1.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,295,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,649,814,000 after buying an additional 649,323 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P grew its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 43.2% during the second quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 14,237,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,884,168,000 after buying an additional 4,292,383 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,076,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,368,338,000 after buying an additional 47,966 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,073,947 shares of the company's stock valued at $824,356,000 after buying an additional 216,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 58.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,269,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $518,456,000 after buying an additional 1,577,338 shares during the last quarter. 80.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Airbnb News

Here are the key news stories impacting Airbnb this week:

• Negative Sentiment: CEO Brian Chesky disclosed multiple stock sales over the past several sessions, including a recent sale of 16,515 shares and a larger sale of 64,333 shares, which can weigh on sentiment even though he still owns a very large stake. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A separate report highlighted a sharp increase in short interest activity in Airbnb, reinforcing the idea that some traders are positioning for more downside or caution in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Airbnb remains supported by longer-term analyst optimism, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target above current trading levels, but that has not been enough to offset the recent insider-sale headlines. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s fundamentals remain solid overall, with revenue growth in the latest quarter and continued profitability, but the most recent earnings report also showed an EPS miss, which may limit enthusiasm. Article Title

Airbnb Stock Performance

ABNB opened at $131.35 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $79.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.16. Airbnb, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.81 and a 52-week high of $147.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $134.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.00.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.62 billion. Airbnb had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 31.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Airbnb, Inc. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABNB. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Airbnb from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Airbnb in a research note on Friday. HC Wainwright upgraded shares of Airbnb to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Airbnb from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Airbnb in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Airbnb

In other Airbnb news, CEO Brian Chesky sold 265,746 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.22, for a total transaction of $35,136,936.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,206,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,481,708,753.58. This trade represents a 2.32% 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, Director Joseph Gebbia sold 265,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.45, for a total transaction of $35,894,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,182,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,049,984.75. This represents a 7.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,635,218 shares of company stock valued at $220,923,305 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 27.21% 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.

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