PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Short Interest Update

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,680,000 shares, a growth of 20.6% from the August 15th total of 18,800,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 12,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

PayPal Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of PayPal stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, reaching $70.10. 7,566,865 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,102,751. The company has a market capitalization of $71.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal has a one year low of $50.25 and a one year high of $74.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.55 and a 200 day moving average of $63.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PayPal will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research began coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, May 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of PayPal to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.56.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cim LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cim LLC now owns 98,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,517,000. Brown Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the second quarter worth approximately $1,454,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,511,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $493,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at $286,000. 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.