eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $61.00. The stock had previously closed at $51.06, but opened at $49.32. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. eBay shares last traded at $49.91, with a volume of 2,038,897 shares traded.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of eBay in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of eBay from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of eBay from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, eBay currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.35.

Insider Activity at eBay

In other news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of eBay stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $50,129.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of eBay

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in eBay during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,767,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in eBay by 604.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 630,956 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $27,522,000 after purchasing an additional 541,384 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in eBay in the 3rd quarter valued at about $798,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in eBay in the 4th quarter valued at about $955,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 244,543 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $10,591,000 after acquiring an additional 97,906 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.05. eBay had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 29.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that eBay Inc. will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.69%.

eBay declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the e-commerce company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.