Short Interest in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Expands By 14.3%

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 26,010,000 shares, a growth of 14.3% from the May 31st total of 22,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at eBay

In other news, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 7,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.20, for a total value of $402,109.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 70,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,837,197.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Marie Oh Huber sold 49,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.63, for a total value of $2,435,344.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 177,391 shares in the company, valued at $8,803,915.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 7,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.20, for a total transaction of $402,109.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 70,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,837,197.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,558 shares of company stock valued at $3,001,254. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of eBay by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. American Trust acquired a new stake in shares of eBay during the 1st quarter worth approximately $793,000. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of eBay by 106.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,777 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 7,112 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of eBay by 325.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 79,151 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 60,544 shares during the period. Finally, PGGM Investments acquired a new stake in shares of eBay during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,716,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of eBay in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of eBay from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of eBay from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of eBay from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.71.

eBay Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of EBAY traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $52.35. 910,472 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,993,021. eBay has a 1-year low of $37.17 and a 1-year high of $55.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.47 and a 200 day moving average of $48.34.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.05. eBay had a net margin of 25.97% and a return on equity of 29.11%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. eBay’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that eBay will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.51%.

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.