PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $89.51, but opened at $82.26. PayPal shares last traded at $80.91, with a volume of 13,602,463 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Macquarie lifted their target price on PayPal from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on PayPal from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on PayPal from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.48.

PayPal Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $79.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 113.8% in the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 7,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 3,976 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at about $387,435,000. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at about $810,000. FCG Investment Co bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at about $1,079,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp raised its holdings in PayPal by 3.5% in the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,998,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $155,927,000 after purchasing an additional 67,497 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Company Profile

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.