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

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 46,520 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 322% compared to the typical volume of 11,011 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on EBAY shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on eBay from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on eBay in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of eBay from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of eBay from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of eBay in a report on Monday, December 29th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.42.

eBay Stock Performance

Shares of EBAY stock traded up $2.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $82.75. The company had a trading volume of 3,214,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,739,149. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $88.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.41. eBay has a one year low of $58.71 and a one year high of $101.15. The firm has a market cap of $37.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.38.

Insider Transactions at eBay

In related news, SVP Jordan Douglas Bradle Sweetnam sold 33,441 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.99, for a total value of $3,076,237.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,733 shares in the company, valued at $435,388.67. This trade represents a 87.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cornelius Boone sold 4,462 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.94, for a total transaction of $374,540.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 91,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,715,848.74. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,584 shares of company stock valued at $3,918,282. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On eBay

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EBAY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of eBay by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,613,332 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $5,018,121,000 after acquiring an additional 468,833 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in eBay by 1.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,581,556 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $638,983,000 after purchasing an additional 140,160 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of eBay by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 8,309,698 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $755,767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808,976 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in shares of eBay by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,748,177 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $674,866,000 after purchasing an additional 384,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of eBay by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,263,191 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $478,687,000 after purchasing an additional 141,057 shares during the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

eBay Company Profile

eBay Inc is a global e-commerce company that operates an online marketplace connecting individual consumers and businesses for the sale and purchase of new, used and collectible goods. Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar and headquartered in San Jose, California, eBay grew from its early auction-style site into a diversified platform offering both auction-format listings and fixed-price “Buy It Now” transactions. The company completed an initial public offering in the late 1990s and has since evolved its platform and services to support a broad range of product categories and buyer preferences.

The company’s core business centers on its marketplace platform, which provides listing, search and transaction capabilities for millions of items across consumer goods, electronics, fashion, collectibles and more.