By Sam Boughedda
Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform, with its price target cut to $100 per share from $120 by Baird analysts on Tuesday.
They told investors in a note that while the firm maintains a positive long-term view on Airbnb shares and the secular shift to online rentals, near term, they are more concerned about risks to discretionary travel spend/ADRs from inflationary and recessionary pressures, along with potential disruptions to bookings from all-in pricing beginning next month.
Still, the analysts admitted that they are also not yet seeing meaningful signs of bookings pressure.
"While we remain impressed with the company’s execution during the pandemic, and continue to believe in the long-term significant growth and market share opportunity, we are more concerned about the effects of inflation/recession on travel spend (bookings and ADRs), and we assume that Airbnb is not immune, although better off than most competitors. Moreover, we have some concerns, as previously reviewed, regarding impacts to conversion rates from all-in pricing," explained the analysts.
Airbnb shares are down 1% at the time of writing. In 2022, the stock has declined over 42%, as the travel recovery still overcomes significant macro headwinds.