EBAY stock has received at least three bull notes in April
Despite its two-year run from around $24 to its current perch of $41.59, eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) stock has long been surrounded by bearish sentiment. So far in April, however, it's been a different story, with a number of analysts weighing in bullishly on EBAY shares. A week ago, KeyBanc initiated coverage on the e-commerce issue with an "overweight" rating and $50 price, calling for continued growth in gross merchandise volume (GMV) going forward.
Morgan Stanley issued a similar note yesterday, upgrading EBAY to "overweight" from "underweight," and lifting its price target to $58 from $36. The analyst in coverage believes eBay's payments business will help drive GMV growth in the coming years, naming the security a top large-cap pick in the process. Turning to this morning, Citigroup weighed in with a price-target hike to $58 from $50.
The shares would need to rally another 39.5% to hit the $58 level, but the momentum is certainly in the bulls' favor. EBAY is up almost 11% so far in 2018, and the most recent pullback was neatly contained by the $39 level, site of the highs from September and October, as well as the 160-day moving average.
There's certainly room for more bullish analyst attention, too. In fact, almost half the brokerage firms tracking eBay say it's a "hold" or "strong sell," so the recent flurry of bull notes could be just the beginning -- especially with the company set to report earnings after the close next Wednesday, April 25. Last quarter, EBAY shares jumped 13.8% the day after earnings, and ultimately touched a record high of $46.99.