PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Down 1.5%

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price dropped 1.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $64.68 and last traded at $64.87. Approximately 2,653,617 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 17,034,943 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective (down previously from $118.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.47.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $67.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.77.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.12. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total transaction of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bartlett & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 9,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in PayPal by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 847,006 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,344,000 after acquiring an additional 73,687 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in PayPal by 4.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 20,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its position in PayPal by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 21,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in PayPal by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 6,936 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during 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.