eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) saw a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 22,300,000 shares, a growth of 11.6% from the November 15th total of 19,980,000 shares. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EBAY shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of eBay from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush initiated coverage on eBay in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on eBay from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded eBay from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on eBay from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, eBay presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.63.

eBay Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $63.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. eBay has a 1 year low of $40.16 and a 1 year high of $67.80.

eBay Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of eBay stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value 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 approximately $4,336,213.77. This trade represents a 1.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $374,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 553,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,852,008.96. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,667 shares of company stock worth $1,516,463 in the last quarter. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On eBay

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in eBay by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 25,964,196 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $1,394,797,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880,649 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of eBay in the third quarter valued at approximately $105,506,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in eBay during the second quarter valued at approximately $71,593,000. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in eBay by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,705,345 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $360,211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,885 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in eBay during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,924,000. 87.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.