2. Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB)
IPO date: December 9, 2020
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 58
Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) is a vacation rental company that facilitates an online marketplace for lodging and tourism activities. The company has over 4 million Hosts who have accommodated more than 900 million guests in 220 countries. Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) ranks second on our list of the best IPO stocks to buy now.
Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) had a solid IPO on December 9, 2020, raising $3.5 billion. Shares of the company opened trading at $146 per share, doubling the original price of $68 per share. The company faced speculations by analysts about its timing to go public when the world is caught in the vortex of the health crisis. The CEO of Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) shed light on the company’s ways to shape travel plans due to the remote work policy, allowing people to travel anytime. In Q2 2021, Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) posted a gross booking value of $13.4 billion versus the estimates of $11.2 billion. Recently, HSBC lifted its price target on the stock to $219, with a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares. Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) has delivered a 10.7% return since its IPO.
Of the 873 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 58 funds have positions in Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB), up from 52 in the previous quarter. These stakes are valued at over $2.7 billion.
Worm Capital LLC recently released its second-quarter 2021 investor letter and mentioned Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB). Here is what the firm has to say:
“Throughout the quarter, you may have noticed that we averaged into a significant position in Airbnb (ABNB). Though the stock has been a relative underperformer since its February highs, we are highly confident about the company’s prospects and its ability to generate meaningful compounded returns over time.
Some history: We have been following Airbnb’s journey for several years, long before the company went public earlier this year. (In fact, nine years ago, in November 2012, Eric profiled the company for Inc.: “Airbnb Is Changing Travel.”)
Whenever we underwrite a new investment, we look for a few key attributes that help us determine the potential long-term value of a business, as well as its risks. In particular, we focus on management (Are they founders? Do they have skin the game? Are they playing the long game?), addressable market size (How big is the opportunity?), its relative growth and creativity to expand (Are they constantly innovating to make the product better for their customers?), margin expansion (Where can we find operating leverage in the model?), its status in the industry (Are they the dominant player? Can they take market share from incumbents?), business risks (What are we missing? Are customers dissatisfied? What do employees say?) and probably a dozen more elements that are critical to our process. It’s only then do we take out the pencils do the valuation work.
In short, ABNB fulfills pretty much every element of a business model we’re attracted to: First, it’s highly scalable marketplace-based business model that unites buyer and seller with observable flywheel effects. (This is an important observation, in that the platform creates significant economic value for millions of hosts who rely on Airbnb, which in turn attracts new hosts who identify the opportunity, which creates more inventory, which turn attracts more travelers, which attracts more hosts, and soon.) Second, it has a global focus with significant opportunities to expand its operating leverage; Third, its management—which is still founder-led—stands out to us as long-term thinkers capable of handling crisis, which the team demonstrated throughout the pandemic by dropping operating costs and turning the business into a more efficient, lean organization. (Like Churchill said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”)..”
