eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on EBAY. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho upped their price objective on eBay from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on eBay from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, eBay currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.84.

eBay Stock Performance

EBAY traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.92. The company had a trading volume of 4,940,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,946,432. eBay has a 12-month low of $37.17 and a 12-month high of $52.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 2.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.27. The stock has a market cap of $26.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.31.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. eBay had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 29.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that eBay will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the e-commerce company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $50,129.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On eBay

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of eBay by 39.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $547,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534,030 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 5.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 48,038,931 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $2,131,487,000 after buying an additional 2,464,766 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in eBay by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $254,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491,485 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in eBay by 82.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,118,490 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $138,367,000 after buying an additional 1,410,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter worth $53,019,000. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Company Profile

eBay Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates marketplace platforms that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, and internationally. The company's marketplace platform includes its online marketplace at ebay.com, off-platform businesses, and the eBay suite of mobile apps.