eBay shares dip; Argus downgrades rating to 'hold'

** Shares of e-commerce firm eBay EBAY.O down 1.13% to $99.63 in premarket

** Argus Research downgrades stock rating to "hold" from "buy"

** Brokerage says eBay is facing tough economic conditions in the UK and Germany, with weak consumer confidence, high inflation, and slow growth

** However, this is being partly offset by efforts to expand key categories, encourage cross-category shopping, introduce new features, and tap into growth in the broader e-commerce market, adds brokerage

** "eBay needs to continue to demonstrate that it can successfully carve out product niches among sellers in the face of serious competition from Amazon.com Inc. AMZN.O, Walmart Inc. WMT.N, and start-up category retailers such as Etsy Inc ETSY.O" - Argus

** Average rating from 33 analysts is "hold"; median PT is $89 - data compiled by LSEG

** Up to last close, shares are up nearly 63% YTD