Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New Investment in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 75,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,263,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PYPL. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. boosted its position in PayPal by 27.9% during the second quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 92,151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,979,000 after purchasing an additional 20,117 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in PayPal by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 27,720 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 2,971 shares during the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new position in PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth about $108,000. Tema ETFs LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 18,352 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth about $488,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Venmo growth supports the recovery story. Venmo’s total payment volume is growing at a mid-teens rate, giving PayPal an important source of transaction growth. Increasing adoption of products such as payments, credit and other monetization tools could help convert that activity into faster revenue growth. PayPal’s Venmo: Can Monetization Sustain Its Mid-Teens Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings and operational improvements remain supportive. PayPal reported quarterly earnings of $1.38 per share, ahead of the $1.28 consensus estimate, while revenue of $8.68 billion also exceeded expectations. Commentary highlighting improvements under CEO Enrique Lores and PayPal’s strong July performance has reinforced the view that the company may be stabilizing after a difficult period. Jim Cramer Examines PayPal Holdings Performance Under Enrique Lores and M&A Speculation
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and M&A speculation are influencing sentiment. Analysts and commentators are debating whether PayPal remains undervalued following its recent share-price gains. Reported speculation about a potential buyout proposal has added an additional catalyst, but there is no confirmed transaction, making this a source of volatility rather than a firm fundamental driver. Is PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Undervalued After Earnings And Its Recent Share Price Jump?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about monetization and the sustainability of growth. Venmo’s strong payment-volume expansion will not necessarily produce comparable revenue growth unless PayPal can increase product usage and monetization. After the stock’s sharp recent advance, any evidence that revenue conversion or profitability is lagging expectations could limit further upside. PayPal’s Venmo: Can Monetization Sustain Its Mid-Teens Growth?

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total transaction of $77,679.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,216 shares in the company, valued at $128,749.60. This represents a 37.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,612 shares of company stock worth $484,534. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $59.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.15. The company has a market cap of $50.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $79.21.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of PayPal to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.72.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal’s platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal’s portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree’s developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.