PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. DZ Bank raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.40.

PayPal Price Performance

PayPal stock opened at $65.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. PayPal has a 52 week low of $56.97 and a 52 week high of $93.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced 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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 113.8% in the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 7,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 3,976 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal during the third quarter valued at approximately $387,435,000. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its holdings in PayPal by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 697,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $59,489,000 after buying an additional 18,172 shares during the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of PayPal by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 33,302 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 7,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 120.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,555,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $125,461,000 after acquiring an additional 849,311 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.