PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 9.2% – What’s Next?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price was down 9.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $80.20 and last traded at $81.31. Approximately 21,844,809 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 148% from the average daily volume of 8,822,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on PYPL. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.29.

PayPal Trading Down 0.8 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44.

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. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 6,916 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $1,179,000. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 41,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,528,000 after acquiring an additional 2,925 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $135,537,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.