eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $63.64, but opened at $65.20. eBay shares last traded at $63.91, with a volume of 380,050 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on EBAY. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of eBay in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of eBay in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of eBay from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of eBay from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of eBay in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, eBay presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.63.

eBay Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.35.

eBay Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $77,757.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,336,213.77. This represents a 1.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $374,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 553,666 shares in the company, valued at $36,852,008.96. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,667 shares of company stock valued at $1,516,463 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of eBay

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EBAY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of eBay by 17.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,964,196 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $1,394,797,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880,649 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in eBay during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $105,506,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of eBay in the second quarter worth $71,593,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of eBay by 22.2% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,705,345 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $360,211,000 after buying an additional 1,216,885 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of eBay during the second quarter valued at $49,924,000. 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.