PayPal Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:PYPL)

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 113,851 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 33% compared to the average volume of 85,827 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PYPL. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.55.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in PayPal by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of PayPal by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co boosted its stake in PayPal by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 2,067 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $72.05 on Thursday. PayPal has a 52-week low of $56.97 and a 52-week high of $93.66. 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 stock has a market cap of $71.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.96.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.03 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.