PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 1.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) fell 1.4% during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $74.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $60.32 and last traded at $61.11. Approximately 2,433,722 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 11,434,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Arete Research set a $81.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, March 27th. DZ Bank raised PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.84.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,736,394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,849,884,000 after purchasing an additional 271,836 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,615,134,000 after buying an additional 2,161,582 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted 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 valued at $1,529,823,000 after buying an additional 9,313,783 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,086,508,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of PayPal by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,462,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $892,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669,908 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Stock Down 2.8 %

The company has a market cap of $59.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $68.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.40.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.