PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 0.8% on Analyst Downgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price was down 0.8% during trading on Thursday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $95.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $78.21 and last traded at $78.58. Approximately 5,152,847 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 10,932,644 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.20.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.29.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in PayPal by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in PayPal by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in PayPal by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in PayPal by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC raised its position in PayPal by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $78.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $87.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.39.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 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 net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

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.