StockNews.com Downgrades PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PYPL. Macquarie upped their price objective on PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Daiwa America raised shares of PayPal from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.03.

PayPal Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PayPal stock traded up $0.31 on Friday, reaching $81.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,201,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,524,066. PayPal has a 52 week low of $50.25 and a 52 week high of $82.80. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $75.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. The company had revenue of $7.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. PayPal's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in PayPal by 180.7% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,946,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $287,043,000 after buying an additional 3,184,160 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 28.1% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,511,242 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $493,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,925 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 9,864.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,119,262 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $87,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,030 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,899,859 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $194,262,000 after purchasing an additional 687,940 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in PayPal during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,297,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

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.