Airbnb is overhauling its stagnant hospitality and rental businesses, according to Wells Fargo & Co., prompting a big jump in its stock price. The bank upgraded its short-term rental title from equal weight to overweight. The company also raised its price target to $178 from $136, suggesting an upside of 24.8% from Tuesday’s closing price. “As the pace of innovation accelerates, upside potential becomes more real,” analyst Ken Gawlerski said in a note to clients on Wednesday. “We see ABNB at a significant business inflection point, going from two years of slow growth and margin compression to accelerated growth and margin expansion from 2026 to 2028.” In early 2025, Airbnb CEO announced plans to make the company “one place for all your travel and living needs.” Since then, Airbnb has been looking to shore up its flagging stock price by integrating ride and sightseeing booking services, as well as adding more hotel listings to its platform, according to Wells Fargo. Additionally, the company introduced artificial intelligence to transform its customer service and enhance real estate recommendations from search engines. ABNB 1Y Mountain ABNB 1Yr Gaulerski expects all of these efforts to further intensify in the coming months, driving Airbnb’s stock price higher. “Improved conversions through more aggressive hotel supply acquisition and merchandising, sponsored listings, loyalty programs, and AI search are all expected to drive forecasts well above consensus,” Gaulerski wrote. The analyst added that Airbnb may also focus on building a loyalty program for its customers to strengthen its business. “Beyond these explicitly modeled drivers, we believe there are significant opportunities for loyalty programs to drive cross-sell behavior and sustain booking growth.” Wells Fargo’s call runs counter to Wall Street consensus. Of the 43 analysts covering Airbnb, 21 have a hold rating on the stock, according to LSEG data. The stock has increased 5% since the beginning of the year.
