Traders Purchase Large Volume of PayPal Call Options (NASDAQ:PYPL)

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 124,402 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 35% compared to the typical daily volume of 92,203 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on PayPal from $104.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank boosted its position in PayPal by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,941 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 285.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,193,000. Finally, Ashford Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $60.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. PayPal has a 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $93.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.87.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. PayPal’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.