eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Raised to Hold at Arete Research

Key Points

• eBay has been upgraded from a "strong sell" to a "hold" rating by Arete Research, reflecting a more positive outlook from analysts.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.37, surpassing estimates and marking a 6.1% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Insider trading activity has increased, with significant stock sales by CEO Jamie Iannone and SVP Julie A. Loeger, indicating potential shifts in management confidence.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Arete Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on EBAY. Wall Street Zen raised eBay from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised eBay from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised eBay from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Arete raised eBay from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on eBay from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.19.

eBay Price Performance

NASDAQ:EBAY traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $93.14. 5,326,361 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,380,925. eBay has a one year low of $54.80 and a one year high of $93.50. The company has a market capitalization of $42.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The e-commerce company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.64 billion. eBay had a return on equity of 38.97% and a net margin of 20.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that eBay will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at eBay

In other news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 12,644 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.02, for a total transaction of $961,196.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 317,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,145,852.50. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jordan Douglas Bradle Sweetnam sold 23,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total transaction of $1,825,935.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 44,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,436,677.94. This represents a 34.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 276,104 shares of company stock worth $22,025,676 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EBAY. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of eBay by 433.9% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.48% of the company's stock.

eBay Company Profile

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.