eBay's measures to create a better buyer and seller experience earns a new bull at Citizens

[ebay company sign]
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EBay’s (NASDAQ:EBAY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EBAY]) efforts to create a better consumer experience in its “focus” categories – collectibles, motor parts/accessories, and apparel – can drive mid-single digit gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2026 and can eventually represent half of total GMV over time.

Reflecting on eBay’s (NASDAQ:EBAY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EBAY]) recent measures to improve the buyer and seller experience, coupled with its use of artificial intelligence to improve product discovery, Citizens analyst Andrew Boone upgraded the stock to Market Outperform from Market Perform and set a $115 price target, representing 20% upside to Thursday’s closing price.

“EBay has found a niche within each [focus] category, and we believe it is now leaning into its strength of superior pricing and long tail inventory more effectively,” Boone writes in his note to clients.

On the seller side, the company introduced “Magical Listings” which allows sellers to take a picture of a product and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EBAY]) will automate much of the listing process. A feature, Boone says, that should not only attract more unique listings given the increased ease to list a product on the site, but increase visibility in Google (GOOG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOG]) search results.

“Artificial intelligence is a tailwind for eBay,” Boone adds, by improving product discovery, ease of listings, and many of the features around the marketplace that make the act of buying and selling easier. The company’s recent partnership with OpenAI for Operator earlier this year opens the potential for deeper integrations, another tailwind for discovery while AI is helping to structure data and make listings easier to find.

While Citizens is raising its outlook on eBay (EBAY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EBAY]) most Wall Street analysts share a more neutral position with a consensus Hold rating. Seeking Alpha analysts are more bullish, viewing the stock as a Buy, while Seeking Alpha’s Quant rating sees eBay (EBAY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EBAY]) as a Hold with a Quant score of 3.32 out of 5.

Shares are up another 2.3% Friday, adding to eBay’s (EBAY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EBAY]) 59% gain this year.

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