PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Down 4.5% – Here’s What Happened

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price traded down 4.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $65.78 and last traded at $65.73. 5,479,824 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 10,837,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.03.

PayPal Trading Down 5.4 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. United Bank raised its position in shares of PayPal by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,941 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in PayPal by 23.1% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 41,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 7,812 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth about $359,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 321,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,098,000 after purchasing an additional 16,510 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $582,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a technology platform that enables digital payments on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. It operates a two-sided network at scale that connects merchants and consumers that enables its customers to connect, transact, and send and receive payments through online and in person, as well as transfer and withdraw funds using various funding sources, such as bank accounts, PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products comprising its installment products, credit and debit cards, and cryptocurrencies, as well as other stored value products, including gift cards and eligible rewards.