PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 1.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) traded down 1.4% during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $74.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $60.32 and last traded at $61.11. 2,433,722 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 11,434,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Arete Research set a $81.00 price objective on PayPal in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com downgraded PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. DZ Bank raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in PayPal by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 344.3% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Up 1.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $60.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $68.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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.