eBay: Goldman, AmTech, Weisel Downgrade; Stock Swoons

It was a rough morning for eBay shares, which were down sharply following last night’s poorly received second-quarter earnings report. While revenues and earnings per share for the quarter beat expectations, third-quarter guidance disappointed the Street, and analysts were dismayed by weaker than expected gross merchandise value in the quarter.

A trio of analysts lowered ratings on the stock. Goldman Sachs analyst James Mitchell cut his rating to Neutral from Buy. He wrote that the lesson from the weak gross merchandise value in the quarter is that “eBay’s business is too large and complex to rapidly reinvigorate, especially in a challenging macro climate, causing consumers to trade down.” He chopped his price target on the stock to $30, from $38.

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