The resilience of Airbnb Inc. in light of a continued delayed journey due to the pandemic, as well as its position vis-à-vis peers, led to positive reviews of its first earnings report from analysts and the rising share prices on Friday.
Airbnb ABNB,
The stock rose 17.6% in Friday’s trading session before rising 13.3% to $ 206.35. Shares had their best day since the company’s initial public offering in December, just one day after their worst trading session yet.
The online travel booking website, the accommodation of which mostly consists of houses or rooms in houses, achieved Thursday’s earnings that beat expectations, which led analysts like those of Jefferies to lead the company ‘the best asset in travel’ mention. Jefferies, which has a buy-in on the stock, raised its price target from $ 182.06 to $ 210.
Despite a loss of nearly $ 4 billion in the fourth quarter, Airbnb posted revenue, bookings and growth overnight, beating expectations.
“As the company’s first quarter was out of the question, Airbnb showed that recovery in travel demand was almost double that of its peers with gross bookings -31% compared to 2019 levels, compared to the booking of -65% and Expedia at -67%, “Ross Sandler of Barclays writes in a note to investors comparing Airbnb to competing online travel companies Booking Holdings Inc. BKNG,
and Expedia Group Inc. EXPE,
Barclays, which has an equal weight on Airbnb’s share, has raised its price target from $ 140 to $ 180.
Sandler does not think Airbnb has an advantage over its competitors.
“Airbnb results / guidance stand out in an increasingly difficult travel environment,” wrote Jake Fuller of BTIG Research, which has a neutral rating on the stock. “We expect a continuing preference for alternative accommodation over traditional accommodation options with still safe issues.”
Although most analysts were impressed with the company’s results, they had residual concerns and more tempered suggestions about the stock.
“While we are favorable to Airbnb’s prospects, supply / demand factors and competition could significantly shift to the pandemic,” wrote Brian Fitzgerald of Wells Fargo, while also expressing concern about a partial expiration of the share, which Wells equals weight considered. “As the share is much higher than the IPO price, which meets the conditions for the ‘second release window’, we believe that 27.8MM shares may be eligible for 3/1 on Monday. ‘
James Lee of Mizuho, which maintained its neutral rating on the stock while raising its price target from $ 150 to $ 176, said: “We prefer to wait for a more attractive entry point,” while Raymond’s Aaron Kessler James wrote: “We believe that equities are reasonably valued at current levels.”
At least 17 of the 34 analysts tracked by FactSet raised their price targets on the stock after the earnings report, pushing the average price target to $ 183.96, which is still more than 10% below current rates. The majority of analysts consider the stock to be the equivalent of an investment; 11 call it a buy, 20 labeling stocks are a hold and three rate the stock as selling.