Keefe, Bruyette & Woods announced Monday that it is covering eBay (EBAY) as a financial services company as a result of its ecommerce unit, PayPal.
The investment bank, which specializes in research, said it is the first to begin covering the online auction and shopping company in that way. KBW says it made the decision because of PayPal's mobile wallet strategy.
KBW does not cover technology, according to an email statement.
"There is a consensus brewing that the next decade or so will see the proliferation of electronic commerce, largely aided by the increased prominence of the smartphone globally," wrote KBW analyst Sanjay Sakhrani in a report to investors. "We believe eBay is uniquely positioned to benefit from and capitalize on the convergence of commerce, payments and marketing by offering a one-stop-shop solution for merchants through a combination of its three business segments."
Sakhrani gave eBay an initial outperform rating, and a $50 price target, according to a press release. At midday, the San Jose company was trading up about 3.42% at $42.03 a share.
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