PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 9.1% – What’s Next?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) fell 9.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $60.95 and last traded at $61.03. 6,896,617 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 11,196,747 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. DZ Bank upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price target on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.13.

PayPal Stock Down 8.1 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,941 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in PayPal by 8,335.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 27,837 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 27,507 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the third quarter valued at $201,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PayPal by 32.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 481,312 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,580,000 after buying an additional 116,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in PayPal by 28.7% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 47,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,712,000 after buying an additional 10,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.