Airbnb Shares Soar Over 110 Pct On First Trading Day

Shares of Airbnb surged on their first day of trading Thursday (Dec. 10), soaring more than 110 percent from their initial public offering (IPO) price of $68 to finish out the day at $144.71.

The home-sharing company, which is listed on the Nasdaq under the “ABNB” ticker symbol, started trading at $146 per share on Thursday — more than double the initial target range set earlier in the week of $56 and $60 per share.

Airbnb’s IPO comes on the heels of DoorDash’s IPO in which shares started trading at $182 on the New York Stock Exchange. The food delivery company had priced its stock at $102 per share on Tuesday night (Dec. 8).

Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s CEO, said prior to Airbnb’s IPO that the company was thinking about changes in how consumers are arranging their trips as telecommuting is possible for a number of individuals.

Airbnb has been able to enjoy a sweet spot with individuals who have a propensity to travel and prefer to stay in homes in lieu of hotels, but the trend might not stick once vaccines make broader travel accessible once more, CNBC reported.

The home-sharing company wrote in its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the company has only captured a small portion of what it sees as a $3.4 trillion total addressable market.

Airbnb comes to the market after COVID-19 hit operations earlier in 2020 — and then things snapped back. Domestic travel has helped the firm bounce back from the lows seen as COVID-19 brought worldwide economies to a standstill, as noted in the firm’s filing.

But Airbnb noted in the filing that its “business model started to rebound even with limited international travel, demonstrating its resilience.”

Between April and June of this year, the company noted in the filing that it “saw a steady rebound in gross nights and experiences booked before cancellations and alterations, which were down 21 percent in June relative to the same period in the prior year.”