Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Stock

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Citigroup from $65.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the e-commerce company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.02% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on EBAY. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of eBay from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of eBay from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of eBay in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, eBay has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.86.

eBay Price Performance

EBAY stock opened at $58.11 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.99 and a 200-day moving average of $56.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. eBay has a 12 month low of $37.17 and a 12 month high of $67.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.32.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The e-commerce company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. eBay had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 30.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that eBay will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of eBay stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.09, for a total transaction of $371,756.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 559,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,963,542.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.09, for a total value of $371,756.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,963,542.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $77,757.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,336,213.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,391 shares of company stock worth $2,678,424. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EBAY. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,929,188 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $3,321,403,000 after purchasing an additional 4,524,934 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,964,196 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $1,394,797,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880,649 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of eBay in the 1st quarter valued at about $97,557,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of eBay in the 1st quarter valued at about $73,777,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of eBay in the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,593,000. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.