Morgan Stanley upgraded eBay stock to "overweight" and nearly doubled its price target
E-commerce stock eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) is 3.9% higher in premarket trading, following a bull note from Morgan Stanley. The analyst upgraded EBAY to "overweight" from "underweight" and nearly doubled its price target to $62 from $35, saying the stock is undervalued compared to peers such as Etsy (ETSY).
Morgan Stanley's new price target represents a level eBay stock hasn't seen since the end of 2021. Should today's premarket gains hold, EBAY will snap a five-day losing streak. The security is outperforming the broader-market SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) in 2024, with the latter up just 5.3% year to date.
Despite a 13.4% year-to-date lead and a 12.3% year-over-year gain, analysts were hesitant towards eBay stock coming into today. Of the 25 in coverage, 18 analysts carried a tepid "hold" or worse rating, leaving plenty of room for more upgrades going forward.
On the other hand, options traders are more bullish. This is per the equity's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.65 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than all but 13% of readings from the past year. In other words, long calls are being picked up at a faster-than-usual pace.