PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PayPal from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on PayPal from $104.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.84.

PayPal Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $61.42 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $67.60 and its 200 day moving average is $78.94. The stock has a market cap of $60.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. PayPal has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $93.66. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 108.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of PayPal by 284.0% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $666,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in PayPal by 174.1% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 2,689,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in PayPal by 12.9% in the 4th 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. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.