eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Stock Rating Lowered by Argus

Key Points

• Argus has downgraded eBay from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, signaling a more cautious outlook for the stock.
• The latest quarterly earnings report showed eBay beating earnings estimates with an EPS of $1.37 and a revenue increase of 6.1% year-over-year.
• Currently, eBay has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a consensus target price of $78.19.

Argus downgraded shares of eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on EBAY. Evercore ISI increased their price target on eBay from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on eBay from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Arete raised eBay from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Susquehanna increased their target price on eBay from $70.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut eBay from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, eBay has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.19.

eBay Price Performance

eBay stock traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $97.06. 5,688,721 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,617,893. The stock's fifty day moving average is $79.84 and its 200-day moving average is $71.93. eBay has a 12 month low of $54.80 and a 12 month high of $97.19. The stock has a market cap of $44.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.07. eBay had a return on equity of 38.97% and a net margin of 20.86%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that eBay will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. eBay's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jordan Douglas Bradle Sweetnam sold 22,206 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $1,729,847.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie A. Loeger sold 75,952 shares of eBay stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.25, for a total value of $7,082,524.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 53,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,952,227.75. The trade was a 58.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 276,104 shares of company stock valued at $22,025,676 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On eBay

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in eBay by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 28,493,042 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $1,765,148,000 after buying an additional 3,149,934 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its holdings in eBay by 4.6% in the first quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 11,689,267 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $791,714,000 after acquiring an additional 510,629 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in eBay by 5.6% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,085,603 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $674,061,000 after purchasing an additional 478,410 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in eBay by 8.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,441,396 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $571,736,000 after purchasing an additional 627,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in eBay by 4.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,109,481 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $481,525,000 after purchasing an additional 300,216 shares in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.