Short Interest in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Increases By 11.6%

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

eBay Stock Down 0.3 %

EBAY stock opened at $63.64 on Tuesday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.27. eBay has a 12 month low of $40.16 and a 12 month high of $67.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.35.

eBay Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of eBay during the third quarter valued at $25,132,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 986,165 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $64,209,000 after purchasing an additional 209,433 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of eBay by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 784,378 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $52,459,000 after purchasing an additional 99,561 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of eBay by 7.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 67,209 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $4,376,000 after buying an additional 4,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of eBay in the third quarter valued at approximately $241,000. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised eBay from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of eBay from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of eBay from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of eBay in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered eBay from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, eBay has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.63.

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.