PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Arete Research

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Arete Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PYPL. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. DZ Bank upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $65.15 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.28 and a 200-day moving average of $80.73. The company has a market cap of $64.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. PayPal has a 1-year low of $56.97 and a 1-year high of $93.66.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in PayPal by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PayPal by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co increased its position in shares of PayPal by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 2,067 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.