Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 167,327 call options on the company. This is an increase of 133% compared to the typical volume of 71,839 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PYPL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Macquarie upped their target price on PayPal from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.48.

PayPal Trading Down 13.2 %

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $77.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. PayPal has a one year low of $55.77 and a one year high of $93.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that PayPal will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 86.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,762,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,307,945,000 after buying an additional 7,767,072 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 12,919.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,500,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $819,315,000 after buying an additional 10,419,351 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of PayPal by 21.6% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,015,816 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $469,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069,356 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the third quarter valued at approximately $387,435,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,689,162 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.