Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $115.96, but opened at $126.47. Airbnb shares last traded at $123.1180, with a volume of 3,096,140 shares traded.

Key Airbnb News

Here are the key news stories impacting Airbnb this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and stronger-than-expected Q1 revenue outlook driven by premium bookings and accelerating bookings/GBV — the topline and guidance are the main bullish catalysts supporting the rally. Airbnb forecasts revenue above estimates (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: AI adoption: Airbnb says about one-third of U.S. & Canada customer support is now handled by its custom AI agent, with plans to scale globally — signals potential structural cost savings and better service scale over time. Airbnb AI handles one-third of support (TechCrunch)
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed quarter: EPS missed consensus ($0.56 vs. $0.66) even as revenue rose ~13% Y/Y — positive demand trends but margin/investment-driven profit pressure creates a binary outcome depending on execution. Q4 earnings miss, revenues rise (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions remain mixed — some price-target trims but continued buy/support from select firms; consensus still around a Hold with varied upside estimates, so analyst flow may moderate near-term momentum. Analyst notes and price target moves (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting appears anomalous (0 shares / NaN changes) — likely a data/reporting error rather than a genuine change in short positioning, so limited informational value for trading.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Director/co‑founder Joseph Gebbia sold 58,000 shares (~$7.0M at ~$121.15) — repeated insider sales can weigh on near-term sentiment even if for diversification. Joseph Gebbia insider sale (SEC filing)
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional rebalancing: ARK (Cathie Wood) reduced Airbnb exposure in recent days, a visible high-profile sale that can amplify negative headlines even if not fundamental. ARK reduces Airbnb position (Blockonomi)

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABNB. Citizens Jmp raised Airbnb from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Airbnb in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Airbnb from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Airbnb in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $156.00 target price on shares of Airbnb in a report on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.88.

Airbnb Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $74.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.18.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.10). Airbnb had a return on equity of 30.96% and a net margin of 20.51%.The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Airbnb’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Airbnb, Inc. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Airbnb

In other Airbnb news, Director Joseph Gebbia sold 232,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.22, for a total transaction of $26,499,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,713.30. The trade was a 99.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Chesky sold 51,230 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.16, for a total value of $6,719,326.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 45,854 shares in the company, valued at $6,014,210.64. The trade was a 52.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,027,422 shares of company stock worth $127,060,208 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 27.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Airbnb

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABNB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Airbnb by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,295,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,649,814,000 after purchasing an additional 649,323 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 43.2% in the second quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 14,237,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,884,168,000 after buying an additional 4,292,383 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Airbnb by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,076,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,368,338,000 after buying an additional 47,966 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Airbnb by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,073,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $824,356,000 after buying an additional 216,455 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Airbnb by 58.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,269,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,456,000 after buying an additional 1,577,338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.76% of the company’s stock.

Airbnb Company Profile

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.