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eBay Slumps Despite Q1 Beat: Buy the Dip via ETFs?

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E-commerce giant eBay Inc (EBAY - Free Report) came up with Q1 results after the closing bell on April 19 and shares plunged 3.9% in the key trading session although the company beat on both lines.

As per Zacks, adjusted earnings were $0.43 per share, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.40. Net revenue rose 4% year over year to $2.217 billion and beat the consensus estimate of $2.214 billion (read: Forget Earnings: Play Revenue Growth with 4 ETFs).

Net transaction revenues showed a gradual improvement in the Marketplace segment, with year-over-year expansion of 2% in the quarter. StubHub’s net transaction revenues witnessed a moderate 15% year-over-year expansion rate in Q1.

As per a source, the company’s gross merchandise volume increased 2.4% to $20.95 billion in the first quarter but fell shy of analysts' average estimate of $21.06 billion, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount.

Inside the Weak Guidance

eBay expects non-GAAP net revenues between $2.28 billion and $2.32 billion in the second quarter. Analysts’ consensus is $2.32 billion. For full-year 2017, the company expects net revenues between $9.3 billion and $9.5 billion.

For the upcoming quarter, eBay forecast adjusted earnings of $0.43 to $0.45 per share. Analysts on average were expecting revenues of $0.47 per share.  

Should You Play eBay ETFs?

The company’s streamlining initiatives and strategy to spin off the PayPal business seems to be taking longer to be fruitful. Though the company is striving to accelerate sales growth, it is facing stiff competition from other e-commerce bellwethers like Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) . This is restraining eBay’s progress, as per an article published on Bloomberg.

To keep pace with competition, eBay plans to launch a three-day delivery guarantee on millions of products, which is “still slower than Amazon’s two-day delivery offered for Amazon Prime shoppers.”

The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at the time of writing. The Zacks Industry Rank is in the top 32%. However, the VGM (Value-Growth-Momentum) score is an unimpressive D. 

So, gutsy investors may use this dip as an entry point to eBay. Another big reason is that the company’s Zacks Industry Rank is in the top 32%. Some of the top companies in the field are Amazon, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA - Free Report) and Groupon Inc. (GRPN - Free Report) which has VGM score of B, B and A, respectively.

PowerShares Nasdaq Internet Portfolio (PNQI - Free Report)

This fund gives investors exposure to the broad Internet industry. The fund holds about 90 stocks in its basket while charging 60 bps in fees per year (read: 5 ETFs Set to Surge Post Netflix Q1 Results).

The in-focus eBay occupies the tenth position with 3.89% allocation while Amazon takes the top position with about 8.30%. In terms of industrial exposure, Internet software and services make up for 55% of the basket, followed by Internet retail. PNQI was up about 0.9% on April 20, 2017.

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index (FDN - Free Report)

This is one of the most popular and liquid ETFs in the broad technology space. The fund charges 54 bps in fees per year. In total, the fund holds 42 stocks in its basket with the in-focus eBay taking the ninth spot with 4.01% share. Amazon has a weight of 8.80% in the fund. From a sector look, information technology accounts for about 70% of the portfolio while consumer discretionary makes up 19%. FDN was up about 0.7% on April 20, 2017.

Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY - Free Report)

This 40-stock ETF comprises stocks that are into online retailing. eBay takes the ninth spot in the fund and accounts for about 3.40% of the product. Amazon has about 3.45% exposure in the fund. IBUY was up 0.7% on April 20, 2017 (see all consumer discretionary ETFs here).

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