Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Airbnb, Inc. $ABNB

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management increased its Airbnb stake by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, and other institutional investors also added to positions; overall, about 80.76% of ABNB shares are held by hedge funds and institutions.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Airbnb carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $157.76, even as some firms trimmed their targets or kept neutral views.
• Recent headlines may pressure the stock: insiders sold shares including large transactions by Director Joseph Gebbia and CEO Brian Chesky, while Airbnb also reported Q1 EPS of $0.26, missing expectations despite strong revenue growth.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB - Free Report) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,072 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,827 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in Airbnb were worth $7,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABNB. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Airbnb during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Airbnb by 55.8% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 4,353 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Airbnb by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Airbnb during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $411,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Airbnb by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 54,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,153,000 after buying an additional 4,811 shares in the last quarter. 80.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush raised shares of Airbnb from a "neutral" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Tigress Financial cut their target price on shares of Airbnb from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Airbnb from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Airbnb from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Airbnb from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Airbnb currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $157.76.

Airbnb News Roundup

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph Gebbia sold 265,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.45, for a total value of $35,894,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,182,355 shares in the company, valued at $431,049,984.75. This trade represents a 7.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Chesky sold 16,515 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.17, for a total value of $2,232,332.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,774,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,456,365,780.59. This represents a 0.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,635,218 shares of company stock worth $220,923,305 over the last three months. 27.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Airbnb Trading Down 2.3%

ABNB stock opened at $131.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $134.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.00. Airbnb, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.81 and a fifty-two week high of $147.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $79.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.16.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.68 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Airbnb, Inc. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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