PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price fell 1.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $68.29 and last traded at $68.74. 2,133,598 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 10,944,845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.03.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $68.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.99.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 29,734 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 108.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,529,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,762,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,307,945,000 after buying an additional 7,767,072 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,772,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the third quarter valued at approximately $387,435,000. Hedge funds and other 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.