Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)

by · The Cerbat Gem

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY – Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 15,675 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 27% compared to the average volume of 12,310 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of eBay from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of eBay from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of eBay in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of eBay from $80.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of eBay from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.79.

Read Our Latest Research Report on eBay

eBay Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY traded down $1.05 on Monday, hitting $66.78. 3,893,002 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,952,962. eBay has a 12 month low of $48.52 and a 12 month high of $71.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.96. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 3,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $265,423.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,329,927.52. This represents a 4.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.21, for a total transaction of $77,267.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,946.80. This represents a 1.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,310 shares of company stock worth $3,121,626. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in eBay by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 28,493,042 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $1,765,148,000 after buying an additional 3,149,934 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its stake in eBay by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 11,178,638 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $692,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277,839 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in eBay by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,151,026 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $573,220,000 after purchasing an additional 335,035 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in eBay by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,032,336 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $435,665,000 after purchasing an additional 245,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of eBay by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,809,265 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $421,834,000 after buying an additional 1,030,292 shares during the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

eBay Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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