Airbnb trails Expedia in 2021, and traders are split on the better bet in the second half

July 15, 2021: -Airbnb received a double upgrade to a buy rating from Gordon Haskett by this week. The firm experiences growth in trends, particularly in Europe, as a boon for the vacation-rental stock.

But Airbnb has languished in this year in comparison to fast-growing challenger Expedia, owner of competitor VRBO. Airbnb stock has decreased 2% in 2021, while Expedia is raised to 22%.

The stock of Airbnb may have been a victim of a rotation away from high-priced growth stocks, Gina Sanchez, the chief market strategist at Lido Advisors and CEO of Chantico Global, says.

“It just faced the mother of all stress tests, and it is offering growth, and therefore doesn’t necessarily value,” Sanchez told CNBC on Tuesday. “The trade for the first half of 2021 was growth at a reasonable price. That’s what Expedia promised.”

Sanchez sees a move back toward bets on high-growth stocks such as Airbnb is the higher valuations are tolerated for the prospect of upcoming earnings in the future.

“The trade for the second half of 2021 is growth, and that’s what Airbnb is setting itself. And so if you’re in search of forwarding rather than back, you’re looking at opportunities to provide significant growth, and that’s where you have to look at Airbnb,” Sanchez said.

Airbnb is not expected to post a full-year profit until 2022. Expedia, by comparison, is forecast to have rebounded back into the black this year after the previous year’s steep loss.

Todd Gordon, the founder of TradingAnalysis.com, sits on the other side of the trade. He backs Expedia.

“I believe that the technical position of it is struggling, trying to hold that $145 IPO price from December, while Expedia is increasing nicely. Expedia, if it can break more than $160, that looks good,” Gordon said during the same interview.

It closed on Tuesday at $143.41 a share, and Expedia closed at $162.02.