PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Acquired by Baker Avenue Asset Management LP

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,925 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,611 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in PayPal were worth $6,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in PayPal by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 2,067 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on PayPal from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on PayPal from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.68.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.69. 8,102,653 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,235,177. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $66.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.51. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.85 and a 1 year high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.84 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.