eBay Receives Upgrade to 'Buy' Status from StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com have revised their position on eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), elevating the e-commerce giant from a 'hold' rating to a 'buy' in a report released on Saturday. Other financial institutions have also recently shared their analysis of eBay's stock performance. Notable mentions include Barclays, raising their price target from $55.00 to $61.00 with an 'overweight' rating, and BMO Capital Markets nudging their target from $49.00 to $53.00, maintaining a 'market perform' rating. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price to $45.00, suggesting an 'equal weight' rating, whereas The Goldman Sachs Group started covering the company with a 'sell' rating and a target price of $38.00. Truist Financial has bumped up their target for eBay to $48.00 with a 'hold' rating. Together, eBay has received a mix of sell, hold, and buy ratings from different analysts, with MarketBeat.com indicating an overall 'Hold' consensus and a price target averaging $48.84.

eBay Stock Performance

NASDAQ-listed eBay shares commenced trading at $50.37 on Friday. Over the past year, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $37.17 and a peak of $51.14. eBay's fifty-day moving average is currently $43.49, while the two-hundred-day moving average stands at $42.64. With a market capitalization of $26.09 billion, eBay displays a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.65, a price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 2.07, and a beta of 1.31. The firm also reported a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.44, and a current ratio of 2.44.

For the quarterly earnings ending on February 27th, eBay outperformed earnings per share (EPS) expectations with $1.07 reported over the estimated $1.03. With a solid return on equity at 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%, eBay's revenue marked an increase to $2.60 billion against a forecasted $2.51 billion. This revenue hike represents a 3.6% rise from the same quarter in the previous year, and analysts foresee eBay achieving an EPS of 3.64 for the current fiscal year.

In a pro-investor move, eBay's Board of Directors greenlit a stock buyback program scheduled for February 27th. This initiative gives eBay the avenue to reacquire $2.00 billion worth of its shares, which accounts for approximately 8.1% of its outstanding stock, suggesting the company perceives its stock to be undervalued.

Insider Activity

eBay has witnessed some insider trading activity recently. SVP Cornelius Boone executed a sale of 4,930 shares at an average price of $42.66, totaling $210,313.80 and after which he held 49,897 shares of the company, valued at about $2,128,606.02. Other transactions include those by SVP Edward O. Garcia, with sales totaling over $50,000. Details of these transactions are filed with the SEC and are publicly accessible. Insiders currently own about 0.21% of eBay's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On eBay

Recent adjustments in eBay's stock were also observed amongst hedge funds and institutional investors. Renaissance Technologies LLC, for instance, has raised its eBay shares by 42.5%, holding a value of approximately $72 million. Other entities, including Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI and Acadian Asset Management LLC, have initiated and increased their investments respectively. Collectively, institutional investors possess 85.87% of eBay stock.

About eBay

eBay Inc. spearheads a series of marketplace platforms that facilitate connections between buyers and sellers both in the U.S. and internationally. Its main platform, ebay.com, along with a suite of mobile applications, empowers users to transact a diverse array of goods. Founded in 1995, eBay's operations are based out of San Jose, California.

eBay, Upgrade, Stock