PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly cautious on PayPal, with 45 covering analysts giving the stock a consensus rating of “Hold.” The breakdown includes 5 sells, 32 holds, and 8 buys, with an average 1-year price target of about $55.01.
• Recent earnings beat expectations, as PayPal reported Q1 EPS of $1.34 versus the expected $1.27 and revenue of $8.35 billion versus $8.05 billion estimates. Revenue rose 7.2% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 5.32.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CAO Chris Natali and insider Frank Keller, with total insider sales of 20,612 shares worth about $966,623 over the last 90 days. Institutional investors still hold a large majority of the stock at 68.32%.

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the forty-five analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirty-two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.0135.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on PayPal from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,443.56. This trade represents a 45.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 10,732 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.96, for a total value of $536,170.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,076,687.32. The trade was a 20.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623 over the last ninety days. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,245 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in PayPal by 14.2% during the first quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,197 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. boosted its holdings in PayPal by 44.8% during the first quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. now owns 77,369 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,499,000 after buying an additional 23,921 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in PayPal by 38.3% in the first quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,151 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 350,802 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $15,867,000 after acquiring an additional 86,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL stock opened at $45.47 on Friday. PayPal has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $44.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.33.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.51%.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal joined the European Payments Council, a move that could strengthen its role in shaping European payment rules and support long-term growth in the region. PayPal Stock (PYPL) Pops 3% on Joining EU Payments Council
• Positive Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted PayPal’s EPC membership as a strategic step toward influencing the future of European payments and instant-transfer infrastructure. PayPal Secures EPC Seat to Help Guide Future of European Payments
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity included cheap out-of-the-money July 10 calls in PYPL, suggesting speculative trading interest rather than a clear fundamental catalyst. Five July 4th Fireworks: Unusual Options Activity Flags Cheap Lottery-Ticket Calls in CHWY, AVGO, PYPL, STLA and WMT
• Neutral Sentiment: A shareholder litigation firm said it is investigating PayPal’s officers and directors for possible fiduciary-duty issues, but this is only an early-stage legal probe and not a formal case. Kuehn Law Encourages Investors of PayPal Holdings, Inc. to Contact Law Firm

PayPal Company Profile

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal's platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal's portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree's developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.

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