PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $89.51, but opened at $82.26. PayPal shares last traded at $80.91, with a volume of 13,602,463 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut PayPal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Fourteen research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.48.

PayPal Stock Down 11.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $79.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC increased its position in PayPal by 113.8% during the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 7,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 3,976 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the third quarter worth $387,435,000. United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the third quarter worth $810,000. FCG Investment Co purchased a new position in PayPal during the third quarter worth $1,079,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp increased its position in PayPal by 3.5% during the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,998,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $155,927,000 after buying an additional 67,497 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.