PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

PYPL has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. DZ Bank raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.03.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $65.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. PayPal has a twelve month low of $56.97 and a twelve month high of $93.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.73.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. United Bank grew its stake in PayPal by 9.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 8,941 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of PayPal by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 41,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 7,812 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth $359,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth $582,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in PayPal by 4.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 48,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,763,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 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.