PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares were down 0.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $89.14 and last traded at $89.49. Approximately 2,277,428 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 8,346,627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PYPL. Stephens increased their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on PayPal from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.48.

PayPal Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $89.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in PayPal by 12,919.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,500,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $819,315,000 after purchasing an additional 10,419,351 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 86.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,762,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,307,945,000 after buying an additional 7,767,072 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the third quarter valued at approximately $387,435,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in PayPal by 174.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $361,316,000 after acquiring an additional 2,689,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in PayPal by 28.1% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,511,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $493,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,925 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.