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

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $76.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $71.26 and last traded at $71.97. Approximately 3,123,622 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 11,634,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.05.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday. Macquarie boosted their target price on PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.03.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Strategic Blueprint LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in PayPal by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 45,046 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,515,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its stake in PayPal by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 6,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. bought a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share 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.