By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Vacasa stock (NASDAQ:VCSA) surged 14% Wednesday after JPMorgan JPM analyst Doug Anmuth said it is a better bet than Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB).
Anmuth initiated coverage of the stock with an overweight rating a target of $11, citing attractive valuations. The target also happens to be the stock’s 52-week high, reached in December. The stock touched a high of $8.30 in the session that’s still underway.
Vacasa now has a market cap of $3.5 billion compared to Airbnb’s $120 billion. The latter was up 5% today on robust fourth-quarter earnings and an optimistic outlook.
Vacasa is a new entrant to the vacation-rental market dominated by Airbnb.
According to reports, JPMorgan believes Vacasa has scaled well to become the largest vacation rental management platform in the U.S.
According to the analyst, Vacasa's "solid execution" across supply acquisition, and distribution leading up to Covid-19 and during the pandemic as well helped it benefit from strong demand for alternative accommodations.
The analyst said Vacasa will remain a valuable strategic partner to Airbnb, Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) and Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE), while its vertically integrated approach provides opportunities for differentiation.