PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Here’s Why

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $77.54 and last traded at $77.73. 2,705,788 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 11,225,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PayPal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given 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 price target of $90.52.

PayPal Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.56. 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 capitalization of $77.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The business 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%. PayPal’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,086,508,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 12,919.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,500,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $819,315,000 after acquiring an additional 10,419,351 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 108.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 9,313,783 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 86.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in PayPal by 284.0% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $666,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.