Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,310,000 shares, a growth of 8.1% from the August 31st total of 13,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Insider Transactions at Airbnb

In other news, CAO David C. Bernstein sold 1,000 shares of Airbnb stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.88, for a total value of $145,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,424,992.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Airbnb news, CTO Aristotle N. Balogh sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total value of $90,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 208,774 shares in the company, valued at $31,585,418.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO David C. Bernstein sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.88, for a total transaction of $145,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,424,992.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 552,989 shares of company stock valued at $75,824,030 in the last quarter. Insiders own 27.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Airbnb

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABNB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Airbnb by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,324,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,662,164,000 after purchasing an additional 791,149 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Airbnb by 57.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 10,632,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,860,000 after purchasing an additional 3,899,179 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Airbnb by 158.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,809,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,279,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558,178 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Airbnb by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,423,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,044,000 after purchasing an additional 153,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Airbnb by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,536,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,341,000 after purchasing an additional 39,129 shares during the last quarter. 80.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ABNB. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $94.00 target price on shares of Airbnb in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Airbnb from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Airbnb in a report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Airbnb from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Airbnb from $160.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.16.

Airbnb Price Performance

Shares of Airbnb stock opened at $128.25 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Airbnb has a 1-year low of $110.38 and a 1-year high of $170.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.16.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.06). Airbnb had a return on equity of 34.74% and a net margin of 46.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Airbnb’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Airbnb will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Airbnb Company 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.