Airbnb stock enjoys best day since IPO as analysts call company ‘best travel asset’



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Airbnb Inc.’s resilience in the face of a continued slowdown in travel due to the pandemic, along with its standing relative to its peers, has led to positive reviews of its first earnings report by analysts and to the surge. stock prices Friday.

Airbnb ABNB,
+ 13.34%
The stock gained as much as 17.6% in Friday’s trading session before ending the day up 13.3% at $ 206.35. The shares had their best day since the company went public in December, just a day after their worst trading session to date.

The online travel booking site, whose accommodation choices mostly consist of houses or rooms in houses, on Thursday released results that exceeded expectations, prompting analysts such as those at Jefferies to call the company “the best part of the trip”. Jefferies, which has a buy rating on the stock, raised its price target from $ 182.06 to $ 210.

Despite a loss of nearly $ 4 billion in the fourth quarter, Airbnb saw revenue, bookings and room nights growth that exceeded expectations.

“As the company exited the first quarter, Airbnb posted that the recovery in travel demand was almost double that of its peers with gross bookings -31% from 2019 levels compared to Booking at – 65% and Expedia at -67%, ”Barclays’ Ross Sandler wrote in a note to investors, comparing Airbnb to rival online travel companies Booking Holdings Inc. BKNG,
+ 2.43%
and Expedia Group Inc. EXPE,
+ 2.43%.
Barclays, which has an equal weighting rating on Airbnb stock, raised its price target from $ 140 to $ 180.

Sandler isn’t the only one who thinks Airbnb has an edge over its competition.

“Airbnb’s results / advice stand out in a still very challenging travel environment,” wrote Jake Fuller of BTIG Research, who has a neutral rating on the title. “We anticipate a continued preference for alternative accommodations over traditional accommodations this year, with continuing security concerns.”

While most analysts were impressed with the company’s results, they have lingering concerns and more tempered suggestions about the stock.

“While we are supportive of Airbnb’s outlook, demand and supply factors and competition could change significantly as the pandemic exits,” Wells Fargo’s Brian Fitzgerald wrote, while also expressing his concern about the partial expiration of the stock block, which Wells rates as equal weight. “With the stock well above its IPO price, meeting the conditions of the ‘second exit window’, we believe that 27.8 million shares will be eligible for sale on Monday 3/1 .

James Lee of Mizuho, ​​who maintained his neutral rating on the stock while increasing his price target from $ 150 to $ 176, said, “We prefer to wait for a more attractive entry point,” while Aaron Kessler of Raymond James wrote, “We think stocks are fairly valued at current levels. “

At least 17 of the 34 analysts tracked by FactSet raised their stock price targets after the earnings report, pushing the average price target to $ 183.96, which is still more than 10% below rate in effect. Majority analysts consider the stock to be a take, with 11 calling them a buy, 20 labeling them as a take, and three rating the stock as a sell.

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