eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $47.00 to $57.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. eBay traded as high as $55.35 and last traded at $54.93, with a volume of 974722 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.01.

EBAY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of eBay from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded eBay from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on eBay from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on eBay from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Marie Oh Huber sold 49,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.63, for a total value of $2,435,344.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,803,915.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total value of $52,110.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,962,109.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marie Oh Huber sold 49,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.63, for a total value of $2,435,344.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,803,915.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,558 shares of company stock valued at $3,001,254. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in eBay by 7.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,929,188 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $3,321,403,000 after acquiring an additional 4,524,934 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of eBay by 39.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $547,516,000 after buying an additional 3,534,030 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of eBay by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,248,438 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $272,551,000 after buying an additional 1,141,288 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of eBay by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $254,712,000 after buying an additional 1,491,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of eBay by 1.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,547,105 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $244,572,000 after buying an additional 60,146 shares in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

eBay Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.09.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.05. eBay had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 25.97%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.51%.

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

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.