eBay Inc (EBAY): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

One of the main reasons why investors were bullish on eBay last year was the spin-off of PayPal, which was completed at the end of July. Billionaire activist Carl Icahn, who had been pushing for the spin-off, said in an statement in 2014:

“As I have said in the past and have continued to maintain, it is almost a “no brainer” that these companies should be separated to increase the value of these great assets and thus to meaningfully enhance value for all shareholders.”

However, even after the spin-off, eBay still represents a great investment. At the Sohn London Investent Conference last year, Per Johansson of Bodenholm Capital pitched his bullish thesis on eBay and said that the spin-off of PayPal offered investors the opportunity to invest in a “smaller eBay”. Johansson added that eBay still has a strong balance sheet and growth was going to pick up across most brands owned by the company.

On the financial side, however, eBay’s revenue and earnings have been falling for the past several quarters. For the fourth quarter of 2015, the company reported revenue of $2.30 billion, down from $4.90 billion a year earlier and slightly missing the estimates of $2.32 billion, while its EPS slipped to $0.50 from $0.90, a year earlier, and was in line with the Street’s expectations.

Now, we’re going to take a look at the key action surrounding eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY).