PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Down 0.1% After Analyst Downgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares fell 0.1% on Wednesday after Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $90.00. Monness Crespi & Hardt currently has a buy rating on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $56.63 and last traded at $57.33. 3,633,375 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 11,357,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.41.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on PYPL. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in PayPal by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 344.3% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.20.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

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.