Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Sells 101,280 Shares of eBay Inc. $EBAY

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners cut its eBay stake by 23.8%, selling 101,280 shares and retaining 324,135 shares valued at approximately $29.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.48% of eBay.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $110.52; eBay shares recently opened at $113.52.
• eBay’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with $1.66 in adjusted EPS and $3.09 billion in revenue, while the completed $1.4 billion Depop acquisition offers growth potential. Sentiment is tempered by a nearly $56 million harassment settlement involving the company and former executives.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP reduced its position in shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY - Free Report) by 23.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 324,135 shares of the e-commerce company's stock after selling 101,280 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned approximately 0.07% of eBay worth $29,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EBAY. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in eBay by 4,452,655.3% during the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,092,795 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $182,282,000 after buying an additional 2,092,748 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in eBay by 214.6% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,858,383 shares of the e-commerce company's stock worth $161,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,601 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 3,248.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,256,975 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $109,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,439 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,626,424 shares of the e-commerce company's stock valued at $315,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the 4th quarter valued at about $98,728,000. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on EBAY shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on eBay from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of eBay from $120.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of eBay from $104.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of eBay in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of eBay from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.52.

Trending Headlines about eBay

Here are the key news stories impacting eBay this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Depop acquisition completed: eBay finalized its purchase of the fashion-resale marketplace from Etsy for approximately $1.4 billion in cash. Depop expands eBay’s presence among younger shoppers and in secondhand fashion, potentially supporting long-term marketplace growth. Etsy Completes Sale of Depop
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings in focus: Analysts expect eBay to report year-over-year earnings growth, following the company’s recent quarterly results that exceeded consensus expectations for both earnings and revenue. However, Zacks said eBay lacks the combination of indicators typically associated with a likely earnings beat, creating uncertainty ahead of the report. eBay Reports Next Week
• Negative Sentiment: Nearly $56 million harassment settlement: eBay and several former executives agreed to settle a cyberstalking and harassment lawsuit brought by Massachusetts journalists David and Ina Steiner. The campaign involved disturbing anonymous deliveries and threats, including live insects and a bloody pig mask. Reports cite total settlement payments of about $55.7 million, including approximately $48.7 million in direct compensation. The cash cost, reputational damage and renewed scrutiny of past management conduct are weighing on sentiment. eBay Settlement With Massachusetts Couple

eBay Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $113.52 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.41 and a 200 day moving average of $100.94. The company has a market capitalization of $50.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.37. eBay Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.03 and a 1-year high of $119.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The e-commerce company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. eBay had a return on equity of 46.11% and a net margin of 17.58%.eBay's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that eBay Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at eBay

In related news, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 11,110 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.33, for a total value of $1,259,096.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,431 shares in the company, valued at $31,214,595.23. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jordan Douglas Bradle Sweetnam sold 863 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.17, for a total transaction of $94,213.71. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 34,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,769,967.61. This represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,012 shares of company stock worth $8,747,852. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

eBay Profile

eBay Inc is a global e-commerce company that operates an online marketplace connecting individual consumers and businesses for the sale and purchase of new, used and collectible goods. Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar and headquartered in San Jose, California, eBay grew from its early auction-style site into a diversified platform offering both auction-format listings and fixed-price "Buy It Now" transactions. The company completed an initial public offering in the late 1990s and has since evolved its platform and services to support a broad range of product categories and buyer preferences.

The company's core business centers on its marketplace platform, which provides listing, search and transaction capabilities for millions of items across consumer goods, electronics, fashion, collectibles and more.

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