Stocks to buy today: Airbnb, Microsoft, Foot Locker

BTIG recommends Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB)

“We upgrade ABNB to Buy with a $170 price target on the belief that renewed COVID uncertainty yields an appealing entry point for one of the most compelling models in our coverage,”

Airbnb’s stock surpassed $200 per share in February, but has since dropped significantly, closing below $140 on Wednesday. The stock has dropped 9% this month as the spread of the delta variant of Covid 19 has raised concerns about the travel industry’s recovery.

However, according to BTIG, Airbnb should be well positioned to handle another downturn in travel.

“While we cannot predict how a COVID resurgence will affect travel, we can say that ABNB is better positioned than competitors to deal with it. “ABNB was down less in the initial lockdown… and is the only one to return to 2019 booking levels,” according to the note. “Any increase in restrictions would be bad for ABNB, but not as bad as for the rest of the industry.”

BTIG forecasted that Airbnb’s revenue would grow by 20% per year from 2022 to 2025.

Citi promotes Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

According to Citi, Microsoft stock will outperform Wall Street expectations when it reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings next week.

“We expect a strong finish to Microsoft’s FY21 with a combination of recovering IT budgets, an increase in expected reseller growth, signs of reacceleration in consumption models, and slightly higher PC numbers compared to three months ago,” the note said. “The overall numbers set-up appears appealing, with conservative guidance against easy comparisons.”

Citi increased its price target from $310 to $378 per share.

“Our third run of our reseller survey revealed further improvement in next-12-month growth expectations at 16% vs. 10% in our prior quarter survey, as the global IT spending environment continues to improve,” according to the note.

Microsoft’s stock is up 26.5 percent.

Goldman recommends Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) 

According to Goldman, Foot Locker’s digital footprint distinguishes it from other traditional retail outlets.

However, that momentum has recently sputtered, with the stock falling 4.8 percent this month.