eBay's (EBAY) "Neutral" Rating Reaffirmed at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group raised eBay's price target from $73.00 to $82.00, reflecting a potential upside of 3.88% from its previous close.
• eBay's latest quarterly earnings showed a report of $1.38 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.34 and demonstrating a 1.1% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• Institutional investors hold 87.48% of eBay's stock, indicating strong confidence in the company's performance among large shareholders.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by equities research analysts at UBS Group in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $82.00 price target on the e-commerce company's stock, up from their previous price target of $73.00. UBS Group's price objective suggests a potential downside of 10.62% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on EBAY. TD Securities lifted their price target on eBay from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of eBay from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of eBay from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.69.

eBay Price Performance

EBAY stock opened at $91.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.68. eBay has a 52-week low of $54.55 and a 52-week high of $92.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.27.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.37 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that eBay will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 10,974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total value of $831,280.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 306,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,228,813.25. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jordan Douglas Bradle Sweetnam sold 22,206 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $1,729,847.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 337,222 shares of company stock valued at $24,463,922. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On eBay

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBAY. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in eBay by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 319,118 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $19,769,000 after purchasing an additional 43,675 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of eBay during the 4th quarter valued at $40,805,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of eBay by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 286,438 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $17,745,000 after buying an additional 14,316 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new position in eBay in the 4th quarter worth $888,000. Finally, Allianz SE purchased a new stake in eBay in the 4th quarter worth $168,000. 87.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.