eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) shares surged roughly 4% on Monday after Morgan Stanley analysts named the online marketplace a top pick, citing explosive growth in live commerce.
Morgan Stanley analyst Nathan Feather credited the company’s live selling platform, saying the market “has started to take off in the US.”
The live commerce feature, which allows sellers to host real-time video events showcasing products instead of traditional static listings, was first launched by eBay in 2022.
Since its launch, the feature has expanded significantly and is now being credited as a primary engine behind eBay’s accelerating gross merchandise volume growth.
“EBAY’s GMV growth acceleration has surprised even the most bullish investors, but the market has struggled to identify why,” Feather said in a research note published Monday.
Feather identified live selling as the critical missing variable, writing that “the $27B live selling market appears to be the missing piece, as we estimate it’s driving 40%+ of EBAY’s growth.”
Following his analysis, Feather raised his price target on eBay stock to $132 from $127, while maintaining an Overweight rating on the shares.
eBay stock has climbed 33% year to date, trading just below the all-time record high the company set back in May.
Earlier this year, video game retailer GameStop made an unsolicited $56 billion bid to acquire eBay, an offer which eBay subsequently rejected.
GameStop has since reported a rise in profit last quarter, with part of that boost attributed to its existing stake in eBay.
The strong year-to-date performance, combined with Morgan Stanley’s renewed confidence, positions eBay as a compelling story in the evolving landscape of online retail and digital commerce.
Live commerce, long dominant in Asian markets, appears to be gaining serious traction in the United States, with eBay emerging as one of the clearest early beneficiaries of that structural shift.
