PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) CAO Chris Natali Sells 1,337 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• PayPal CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares at an average price of $58.10, totaling $77,679.70. The Rule 10b5-1 transaction reduced Natali’s holdings by 37.63%, leaving 2,216 shares.
• PayPal reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.38, beating the $1.28 consensus, while revenue of $8.68 billion exceeded expectations and rose 4.8% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share.
• Wall Street’s overall view remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $55.50; analysts cited ongoing branded-checkout and execution risks despite the earnings beat.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total value of $77,679.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $128,749.60. The trade was a 37.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Chris Natali also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Chris Natali sold 552 shares of PayPal stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.65, for a total value of $23,542.80.

PayPal Stock Down 1.2%

PYPL traded down $0.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $57.65. The stock had a trading volume of 11,958,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,628,756. The stock's 50 day moving average is $46.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $50.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $38.46 and a one year high of $79.21.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. PayPal's dividend payout ratio is 10.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its stake in PayPal by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 4,809 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 137.9% in the second quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust now owns 690 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 17.3% during the second quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 30,436 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 9.5% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,686 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 14.6% during the second quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 24,120 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 3,080 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PYPL. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $50.00 price objective on PayPal in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised PayPal from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Argus set a $70.00 price target on PayPal in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on PayPal from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.50.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal reported adjusted earnings of $1.38 per share, above the $1.28 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $8.68 billion versus expectations of $8.47 billion. Revenue increased 4.8% year over year, and management raised its full-year earnings outlook. PayPal profit beat and takeover coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Management said branded checkout is stabilizing, Venmo continues to expand and cost-saving initiatives are supporting the turnaround. Several analysts raised their price targets after the results, including JPMorgan to $65 and KBW to $70; KBW also upgraded the stock to Outperform. Analysts raise PayPal forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Reported takeover interest from Stripe and Advent International, at approximately $60.50 per share, may provide a potential valuation floor and keeps strategic alternatives in focus. However, PayPal’s board reportedly viewed the offer as too low. PayPal takeover target coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided. Mizuho, Citi, TD Cowen, Wells Fargo, Baird and Canaccord raised or maintained targets but generally kept Neutral, Hold or Equal Weight ratings, reflecting limited upside at recent trading levels. Wall Street views on PayPal
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that PayPal’s core branded checkout has lost momentum and requires a new CEO and substantial execution improvement. Comparisons with Visa’s stronger payment-volume performance highlight the risk that payments growth and industry power are concentrating elsewhere. Visa versus PayPal post-earnings comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reportedly warned investors to sell, while analysts cited margin pressure and execution risks. The earnings beat therefore has not yet convinced the market that PayPal’s turnaround is durable. Goldman Sachs PayPal warning

About PayPal

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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