eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

EBAY has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of eBay from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of eBay in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of eBay in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.71.

eBay Price Performance

NASDAQ EBAY opened at $53.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.32. eBay has a 1 year low of $37.17 and a 1 year high of $55.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total transaction of $52,110.10. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Rebecca Spencer sold 2,083 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.62, for a total transaction of $111,690.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $220,324.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total transaction of $52,110.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,126 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,109.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,558 shares of company stock valued at $3,001,254. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of eBay

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EBAY. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new position in eBay in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in eBay by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 732 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank boosted its stake in eBay by 200.0% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 600 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during 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.