Short Interest in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Drops By 7.7%

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 28,260,000 shares, a decrease of 7.7% from the August 31st total of 30,630,000 shares. Approximately 5.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EBAY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $64.00 target price (up from $58.00) on shares of eBay in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of eBay from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on eBay from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on eBay from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.61, for a total transaction of $256,760.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 70,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,530,000.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other eBay news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 25,000 shares of eBay stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.91, for a total transaction of $1,597,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,332 shares in the company, valued at $4,494,918.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,974 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.61, for a total transaction of $256,760.14. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 70,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,530,000.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of eBay

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of eBay during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of eBay by 894.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 517 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in eBay in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in eBay during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of eBay during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY traded up $0.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $65.73. 2,329,635 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,568,458. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. eBay has a 12-month low of $37.17 and a 12-month high of $65.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.32.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The e-commerce company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.88. eBay had a return on equity of 29.69% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that eBay will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

eBay Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio 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.