The security also received two price-target hikes this morning
The shares of Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ: ABNB) are up 0.4% at $36.26 this morning after the tech concern reported narrower-than-expected first-quarter losses of $1.12 per share, as well as a revenue that beat analysts estimates. The company said bookings rose 52% amid ramped up Covid-19 vaccinations, and added that it expects second-quarter revenue to be notably higher than a year prior.
The brokerage bunch is already chiming in on the results. The equity received no fewer than nine price-target cuts, including one from Wedbush to $150. Meanwhile, Stifel and Credit Suisse raised their price objectives to $145 and $164, respectively. Analysts are mostly hesitant towards the security, with 16 of the 28 in question calling ABNB a tepid "hold." However, the 12-month consensus target price of $181.81 is a notable 33.9% premium to current levels.
The security has had a volatile run on the charts since going public in December with an initial public offering (IPO) price of $68 per share. Shares more than tripled from that level to reach a Feb. 11, all-time-high of $219.94, but have since careened lower. Most recently, the stock has struggled with overhead pressure from the 20-day moving average, and has shed 27.8% this quarter.
Meanwhile, short sellers have been piling on Airbnb stock. Short interest rose 37.3% in the last two reporting periods, and the 22.56 million shares sold short now account for a hefty 26% of the equity's available float, or almost a week's worth of pent-up buying power.
The options pits are not so pessimistic. So far, 30,000 calls have crossed the tape, which is 10 times what is typically seen at this point. Most popular is the monthly May 150 call, followed by the weekly 5/14 150-strike call, with new positions being opened at both. Buyers of the latter expect upside for ABNB by the end of the day, when contracts expire.