PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 0.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price traded down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $90.00. Monness Crespi & Hardt currently has a buy rating on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $56.63 and last traded at $57.33. 3,633,375 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 11,357,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.41.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on PYPL. DZ Bank raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Arete Research set a $81.00 target price on PayPal in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in PayPal by 161.3% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 23,026 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 14,215 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 138,773 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,055,000 after purchasing an additional 14,276 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 9,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in PayPal by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 347,529 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,676,000 after buying an additional 58,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in PayPal by 99,209.1% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,924 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 10,913 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Stock 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 $63.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.99.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. PayPal’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS 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.