Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stake in Airbnb, Inc. $ABNB

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Airbnb by 11.0%, acquiring 7,222 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 72,712 shares worth approximately $8.69 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Harris Associates L P and AQR Capital Management LLC, significantly boosted their holdings in Airbnb during the first quarter, highlighting a trend of increased institutional interest in the company.
• Airbnb's stock opened at $123.81, with a market capitalization of $76.94 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, indicating strong valuation metrics despite a recent slight decline in share price.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB - Free Report) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 72,712 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,222 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Airbnb were worth $8,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABNB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Airbnb by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,462,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,475,286,000 after acquiring an additional 604,120 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in shares of Airbnb by 86.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,598,125 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 2.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,402,970 shares of the company's stock worth $525,979,000 after purchasing an additional 106,135 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Airbnb by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,282,523 shares of the company's stock worth $500,755,000 after buying an additional 1,916,676 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Airbnb by 74.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,255,682 shares of the company's stock worth $388,924,000 after buying an additional 1,389,251 shares during the period. 80.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Airbnb

In other Airbnb news, CFO Elinor Mertz sold 4,630 shares of Airbnb stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.42, for a total value of $594,584.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 444,070 shares in the company, valued at $57,027,469.40. The trade was a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Aristotle N. Balogh sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total transaction of $74,976.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 202,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,242,669.76. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,438,926 shares of company stock valued at $188,880,433 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 27.83% of the company's stock.

Airbnb Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ABNB opened at $123.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.25 and a 200 day moving average of $128.92. The company has a market capitalization of $76.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.13. Airbnb, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.88 and a 52 week high of $163.93.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.11. Airbnb had a return on equity of 32.19% and a net margin of 22.67%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Airbnb, Inc. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ABNB. Barclays set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Airbnb and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Airbnb to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Airbnb in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets set a $124.00 target price on Airbnb and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Airbnb from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Airbnb currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.66.

Airbnb Profile

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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