eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Short Interest Update

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,090,000 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the March 15th total of 19,310,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Transactions at eBay

In other news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBAY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of eBay by 39.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $547,516,000 after buying an additional 3,534,030 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of eBay by 5.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 48,038,931 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $2,131,487,000 after buying an additional 2,464,766 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of eBay by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $254,712,000 after buying an additional 1,491,485 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of eBay by 82.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,118,490 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $138,367,000 after buying an additional 1,410,871 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of eBay in the fourth quarter valued at $53,019,000. 87.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

eBay Trading Down 1.3 %

eBay stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,120,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,527,760. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.32. eBay has a 1 year low of $37.17 and a 1 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.08.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that eBay will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. This is a positive change from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.69%.

eBay declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the e-commerce company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EBAY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on eBay in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on eBay from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.21.

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.