eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Shares Gap Up to $49.45

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $49.45, but opened at $51.33. eBay shares last traded at $50.41, with a volume of 1,675,050 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on EBAY. Barclays raised their price target on eBay from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna raised their price target on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on eBay in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, eBay has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.21.

eBay Trading Up 0.9 %

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.25. The firm has a market cap of $26.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.33.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last released 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. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that eBay Inc. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. This is a boost from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.69%.

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

Insider Transactions at eBay

In other news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in 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. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in eBay by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 48,038,931 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $2,131,487,000 after buying an additional 2,464,766 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in eBay by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $254,712,000 after buying an additional 1,491,485 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in eBay by 82.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,118,490 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $138,367,000 after buying an additional 1,410,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in eBay during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,019,000. Institutional investors 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.