PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 8.7% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• PayPal shares dropped 8.7% recently, trading as low as $70.31, with a significant increase in trading volume at 19.6 million shares.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with a majority rating it as a hold and target prices ranging from $56.00 to $117.00.
• Insider transactions show recent sales by directors, reflecting a 21.36% decrease in ownership by one director, indicating potential concerns about the stock.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 8.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $70.31 and last traded at $71.45. Approximately 19,616,326 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 79% from the average daily volume of 10,961,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.57.

PayPal Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $73.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $64.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.45.

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 business had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.08 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.49% and a return on equity of 25.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $277,035.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,020,248. The trade was a 21.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total transaction of $304,824.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,550,894.92. The trade was a 7.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,796 shares of company stock valued at $863,028 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in PayPal by 108.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,529,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the first quarter valued at $529,264,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in PayPal by 44.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,559,376 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $558,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,638,815 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,615,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161,582 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of PayPal by 124.1% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,497,415 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $228,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

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.