Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC has increased its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. by 80.5% in the first quarter, now holding 39,027 shares valued at approximately $2.5 million.
• Insider trading activity includes the sale of shares by executives, with a total of 15,102 shares sold valued at over $1 million in the last three months, indicating a decrease in their positions.
• PayPal's stock has seen a 1.1% decline recently, with prices around $67.68, while analysts have set a consensus target price of approximately $85.00 for the shares.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 80.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,027 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,406 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in PayPal were worth $2,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 726.0% in the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 413 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL traded down $2.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.64. The stock had a trading volume of 14,338,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,721,754. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $62.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.85 and a fifty-two week high of $93.66. The business's 50-day moving average price is $71.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.55.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.08 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 14.49%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. PayPal has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.180-1.220 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 5.150-5.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 7,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total value of $492,523.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total value of $288,801.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,364,235.37. The trade was a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,102 shares of company stock worth $1,046,607 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PayPal from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on PayPal in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.00.

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.