eBay Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:EBAY)

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 25,232 call options on the company. This is an increase of 91% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,193 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Marie Oh Huber sold 49,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.63, for a total transaction of $2,435,344.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,803,915.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EBAY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of eBay by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,929,188 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $3,321,403,000 after buying an additional 4,524,934 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of eBay by 39.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $547,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534,030 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of eBay in the first quarter valued at about $97,557,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of eBay by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $254,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,485 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in eBay during the first quarter worth about $73,777,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of eBay from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Cowen increased their price target on eBay from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.45.

eBay Price Performance

EBAY opened at $54.41 on Friday. eBay has a 1 year low of $37.17 and a 1 year high of $54.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.04.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The e-commerce company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.05. eBay had a return on equity of 29.11% and a net margin of 25.97%. 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 firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that eBay will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. eBay’s payout ratio is currently 21.51%.

eBay declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the e-commerce company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.