Short Interest in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Expands By 32.5%

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 32,930,000 shares, a growth of 32.5% from the January 31st total of 24,850,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 10,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 344.3% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $69.50 on Thursday. PayPal has a 1 year low of $56.97 and a 1 year high of $93.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.09.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PYPL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.03.

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.