PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 4.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) dropped 4.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $65.78 and last traded at $65.73. Approximately 5,479,824 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 10,837,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Arete Research cut shares of PayPal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.82.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released 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 company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,736,394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,849,884,000 after buying an additional 271,836 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 2,161,582 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in 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 valued at $1,529,823,000 after acquiring an additional 9,313,783 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,086,508,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in PayPal by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,462,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $892,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,669,908 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.