eBay: Plenty of Options to Unlock Value

Eric Savitz — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:03:37 +0000

On Wednesday, eBay (EBAY) will hold a meeting with analysts to discuss the current business and strategy. There is little expectation that the company will announce any dramatic moves, and concern about the health of the business remains high, as expressed by eBay’s surprisingly low P/E–the stock trades at just seven times expected 2009 results. Of the 29 analysts tracked by Thomson who follow the company, only four rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy.

But Marianne Wolk, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, one of the few outright bulls on the stock, asserts that eBay actually has a variety of options which could unlock substantial shareholder value. In a research note this morning, Wolk runs through a variety of ways that eBay could potentially re-energize the Street about the stock:

Boost the value of PayPal through a strategic partnership with Google (GOOG). She notes that PayPal and eBay have massive amounts of data on consumer online shopping behavior that could be tremendously valuable in terms of ad targeting. “With PayPal’s conversion and spending data, Google could significantly improve ad targeting, raise click-through rates” and increase cost per click rates, she says.

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Priceline: Susquehanna Cuts Rating After Recent Rally

Eric Savitz — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:13:18 +0000

Priceline (PCLN) shares are under pressure this morning after Susquehanna Investment Group analyst Marianne Wolk this morning cut her rating on the stock to Neutral from Positive. She says the shares have rallied significantly “and now discount more of the positive in the story,” including a resilient Name Your Own Price business, a highly variable cost structure, a declining share count and a more favorable currency environment. She says the stock is now less compelling “given the macro challenges facing it and the rest of the [online travel agency] industry.”

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AllThingsD » Marianne Wolk

eBay: Plenty of Options to Unlock Value

Priceline: Susquehanna Cuts Rating After Recent Rally