Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $58.00 price objective on the e-commerce company’s stock. Benchmark’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.91% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on EBAY. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on eBay from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of eBay from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.95.

eBay Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBAY traded down $1.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.04. 2,684,858 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,341,544. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 2.44. The company has a market cap of $25.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. eBay has a 1 year low of $37.17 and a 1 year high of $52.93.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.05. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that eBay will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the e-commerce company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at eBay

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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,372,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EBAY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of eBay by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $547,516,000 after buying an additional 3,534,030 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in eBay by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 11,167,875 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $495,407,000 after buying an additional 289,071 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of eBay by 16.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,182,095 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $360,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,089 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of eBay by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,979,291 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $307,717,000 after purchasing an additional 209,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of eBay by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,248,438 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $272,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

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.