eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on EBAY. Piper Sandler upped their target price on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna increased their price target on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.21.

eBay Price Performance

EBAY stock opened at $51.18 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.43. eBay has a 12-month low of $37.17 and a 12-month high of $52.93. 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 company has a market cap of $26.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.33.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.04. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that eBay will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

eBay announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the e-commerce company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at eBay

In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $50,129.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in eBay by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 12,132 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in eBay during the 1st quarter valued at $2,354,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the 1st quarter worth $865,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 81.6% during the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,584 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 3,857 shares in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About eBay

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.