eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) climbed roughly 5% on Thursday to approximately $123 per share, breaking past its previous 52-week high of $119.31 set earlier in the year.
The move was fueled by renewed speculation that GameStop could revive its takeover bid for the e-commerce marketplace, a story circulated by 24/7 Wall St.
Neither eBay nor GameStop has issued any statement to confirm or deny the renewed deal chatter, despite months of very public interest from GameStop’s side.
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen, who previously sold Chewy to PetSmart for $3.35 billion before turning around the struggling video game retailer, made a formal offer of $125 per share on May 3.
That bid was structured as half cash and half GameStop stock, valuing eBay at approximately $56 billion, roughly four times GameStop’s own market capitalization at the time.
eBay’s board rejected the offer on May 12, describing it as “neither credible nor attractive,” effectively closing the door on further negotiations.
GameStop has continued accumulating eBay shares regardless, converting its options into common stock over the summer and holding approximately 43.4 million eBay shares as of August 1, just under 10% of the company and worth more than $5 billion at Thursday’s prices.
Bloomberg reported in August that Cohen was weighing a softer approach, potentially pursuing a partnership or joint venture centered on trading cards and collectibles sold through GameStop stores and listed on eBay’s platform.
The rumors appear to be moving more than just eBay, with Etsy jumping 7% and the e-commerce ETF IBUY rallying 3% on the day, while the broader S&P 500 tracked by SPY held essentially flat.
Morgan Stanley analyst Nathan Feather had already named eBay a top pick on October 12, maintaining an Overweight rating and raising his price target to $132, citing the company’s live-commerce business as the engine behind its recent acceleration.
That analyst endorsement gave eBay shares a credible fundamental argument heading into the week, providing a base from which unconfirmed takeover chatter could trigger an outsized market reaction.
With a fresh price target above Thursday’s trading level and confirmed strategic interest from one of retail’s most closely watched operators, eBay stock carries two distinct catalysts that together help explain the sharp move higher.
