eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Short Interest Update

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,610,000 shares, a decline of 8.2% from the March 31st total of 18,090,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $50,129.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EBAY. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of eBay during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,767,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in eBay by 604.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 630,956 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $27,522,000 after purchasing an additional 541,384 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in eBay in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $798,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in eBay in the 4th quarter valued at $955,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of eBay by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,785,607 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $122,817,000 after purchasing an additional 43,616 shares in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EBAY. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on eBay in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded eBay from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on eBay from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, eBay currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.17.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $52.75. The company had a trading volume of 5,975,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,365,235. eBay has a one year low of $37.17 and a one year high of $52.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.63. The firm has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.33.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.04. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that eBay will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is a positive change from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.69%.

eBay announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the e-commerce company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.