Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 113,851 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 33% compared to the typical volume of 85,827 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,086,508,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 12,919.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,500,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $819,315,000 after buying an additional 10,419,351 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in PayPal by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,529,823,000 after buying an additional 9,313,783 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,762,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,307,945,000 after acquiring an additional 7,767,072 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in PayPal by 284.0% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $666,100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,772,198 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL traded down $1.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.23. 14,438,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,590,841. The firm has a market cap of $73.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.44. 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 12 month low of $56.97 and a 12 month high of $93.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.96.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on PayPal from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $90.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.52.

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.