Elliott Management is pushing for changes at the online retailer
The shares of eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) are up 12.1% to trade at $34.50, after the Wall Street Journal reported Elliott Management and Starboard Management hold stakes in the online retailer. Additionally, the former unveiled a letter sent to EBAY's board of directors outlining a five-point plan -- which includes dropping StubHub -- that it believes could double the stock's value by the end of 2020.
Against this backdrop, EBAY stock is on track for its biggest one-day gain since Feb. 1, and is trading north of its 200-day moving average for the first time since June. This positive price action is just more of the same for the shares, though, which were up 10.4% year-to-date heading into today's trading. Plus, eBay has been one of the best stocks to own in the week following Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
There's plenty of skepticism priced into EBAY shares, too, which could fuel more upside on a potential unwind. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), EBAY's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.17 ranks in the 97th annual percentile, meaning puts have been bought to open over calls at a quicker-than-usual clip.
Elsewhere, 13 analysts maintain a tepid "hold" recommendation on EBAY stock, compared to 10 brokerages that carry a "buy" or better recommendation. A shift in sentiment among options traders and/or a round of bullish brokerage notes could create tailwinds for the retail shares.