eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 22,300,000 shares, a growth of 11.6% from the November 15th total of 19,980,000 shares. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EBAY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on eBay from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of eBay from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total value of $355,556.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 531,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,575,066.07. This represents a 1.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,974 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.61, for a total value 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. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,641 shares of company stock worth $3,370,974. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On eBay

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EBAY. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in eBay by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 29,179 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 7,781 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of eBay by 234.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 182,534 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $9,806,000 after purchasing an additional 127,991 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in eBay by 164.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,069 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in eBay by 86.3% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 613 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in eBay by 113.8% during the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 25,847 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after buying an additional 13,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of eBay stock opened at $63.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $63.37 and a 200 day moving average of $59.14. eBay has a 52 week low of $40.16 and a 52 week high of $67.80. The company has a market cap of $30.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

eBay Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.14%.

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.