Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stock Position in Airbnb, Inc. $ABNB

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,448 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,417 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Airbnb were worth $9,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in Airbnb by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 18,694,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,537,205,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,477 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 47,966 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,762,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $917,845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492,847 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,073,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $824,356,000 after purchasing an additional 216,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Airbnb by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,146,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,452,000 after buying an additional 981,624 shares during the period. 80.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ABNB shares. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Airbnb in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Airbnb in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Airbnb from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Tigress Financial dropped 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Airbnb from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.84.

Airbnb Stock Performance

Shares of ABNB stock opened at $147.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $139.04 and a 200 day moving average of $134.33. Airbnb, Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.81 and a 52 week high of $150.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.05). Airbnb had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 31.24%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Airbnb, Inc. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Airbnb News

Here are the key news stories impacting Airbnb this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage on Airbnb with a Neutral rating and a $152 price target, implying modest upside from current levels and helping reinforce investor confidence. Read More
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating on Airbnb, adding to the recent stream of bullish analyst commentary around the company. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Baird previously lifted its price target on Airbnb to $160 from $150 while keeping an Outperform rating, suggesting Wall Street sees room for further gains. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Airbnb is attracting elevated investor attention online, but the search activity itself does not provide a clear fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Airbnb co-founder Joseph Gebbia sold about $39 million of stock through a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan; the transaction reduced his stake, but the sale was planned in advance and does not necessarily signal negative business fundamentals. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: News that Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s X account was hijacked in an AI-driven crypto scam could raise investor concerns about cybersecurity and brand risk, even though the incident appears to involve his personal account rather than the core platform. Article link

Insider Activity at Airbnb

In other Airbnb news, insider Nathan Blecharczyk sold 13,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $2,020,057.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 81,677 shares in the company, valued at $12,118,416.49. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Elinor Mertz sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.01, for a total value of $555,037.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 445,290 shares in the company, valued at $65,907,372.90. This trade represents a 0.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,325,429 shares of company stock worth $321,925,435. 27.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.