Airbnb (ABNB) shares were extending gains for the seventh straight session on Wednesday, as they gained 1.90% to $ $134.52 during afternoon trading.
The vacation home rentals company lost over 5% in the previous six sessions, in contrast to a decline in the broader markets. In the past year, however, the company has gone up by only 2.28% compared to an over 11.59% rise in the S&P500 index.
This week, the company faced a penalty of roughly €64 to €68 million (~$75 million) by Spain’s Consumer Rights Ministry, for advertising tens of thousands of unlicensed or improperly registered tourist rentals across the country.
Many of the problematic listings were already targeted in earlier enforcement waves, when Spain ordered the removal of more than 65K non-compliant tourist rentals from the platform and related them to housing affordability concerns in cities like Madrid and Barcelona.
Despite the news, Airbnb’s stock closed 2.66% higher on the day.
Seeking Alpha analyst Bernard Zambonin issued a Sell rating for the stock, arguing that even though Airbnb remains a high-quality, cash-generative business, its primary home-rental platform has matured, limiting incremental growth and upside.
“Structural deceleration in nights booked, weak ADR growth below services inflation, and plateauing margins undermine the case for sustained multiple expansion,” the analyst said about the company.
Meanwhile, another analyst, Vladimir Dimitrov, CFA, assigned a Hold rating to the stock.
“Airbnb’s stock would most likely close 2025 at roughly the same levels that it started at and although growth remains robust, I don’t see this as a reason to rate the stock as a Buy. Investors should consider the risks for ABNB moving into new service segments and the stiff competition from Booking Holdings. Margin headwinds would also put pressure on ABNB stock and lastly macroeconomic risks are not to be ignored,” he said.
Overall, Seeking Alpha analysts had a Hold rating for the stock. The Wall Street community also shared a consensus rating of Hold for the rentals firm.
Looking at Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating, Airbnb has a Hold rating as well, with a score of 2.89 out of 5. The company was rated A+ for profitability, while it got a D- for valuation.