Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• PayPal saw a significant surge in call options trading on Monday, with investors purchasing 148,153 call options, which is an 84% increase from the average volume.
• During mid-day trading, PayPal stock rose by $3.58 to reach $70.88, with a market capitalization of $67.72 billion.
• The company's recent earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.40, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.10, with revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 148,153 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 84% compared to the typical volume of 80,521 call options.

PayPal Stock Performance

PayPal stock traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $70.88. 8,924,459 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,065,582. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.34. PayPal has a fifty-two week low of $55.85 and a fifty-two week high of $93.66. The stock has a market cap of $67.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.08 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 14.49%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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, research analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PYPL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JMP Securities cut their price objective on PayPal from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial started coverage on PayPal in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 7,102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total value of $492,523.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total value of $288,801.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 48,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,364,235.37. The trade was a 7.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,102 shares of company stock valued at $1,046,607 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PayPal by 726.0% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 413 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the first quarter worth $28,000. Tsfg LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 81.6% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 445 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its position in shares of PayPal by 100.4% in the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87,524 shares during the period. 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.

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