Better search rankings seen key to eBay’s growth

After a surprisingly strong quarter shorn of PayPal, further growth for eBay Inc will rest on its ability to make its website more visible to those searching for items to buy. EBay's shares rose as much as 13.5 percent on Thursday, a day after the company reported a better-than-expected profit for its first quarter since it spun off PayPal Holdings Inc, the payments processing business that had been its main engine of growth. At least seven analysts covering eBay's stock raised their price target, to a high of $33, while at least two cut their targets, to a low of $29.

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Paypal’s retail chief steps down

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Paypal executive Don Kingsborough, who helped orchestrate the payments company's move into physical retail stores, stepped down in January, the company said on Wednesday. His departure, which tech blog Re/code first reported, comes as the company competes with the likes of fast-growing startup Square, to get its payments system adopted in more retail chains nationwide. In a statement, spokeswoman Amanda Miller said PayPal, which is slated to split from eBay Inc later this year, will keep testing and investing in various in-store payments systems

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