Hold EBAY Ahead of Earnings

Online auctioneer eBay Inc. (EBAY - Analyst Report) is the world's largest online trading community. The company provides niche online services that generated $7.6 billion in sales in 2007.

We are leaving our fourth quarter estimate at $0.38, but we are lowering our estimates for 2009. We now expect eBay to earn $1.68 in 2008 and $1.56 in 2009. While the stock is trading at less than 10x our 2009 EPS estimate, we are not recommending investors buy shares at this time. That's because growth eBay's core business continues to slow, as macro headwinds and competitive pressures continue to weigh on the company's gross merchandise volume.

Those negatives will lead to consensus earnings estimates declining in the months ahead. We maintain our Hold rating on eBay, which should report fourth quarter earnings during the week of January 19.

Read the full analyst report on EBAY

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