PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Down 2.3% on Analyst Downgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 2.3% on Wednesday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $104.00 to $88.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $63.54 and last traded at $64.79. Approximately 2,651,609 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 11,425,296 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.32.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on PYPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of PayPal from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on PayPal from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.77.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in PayPal by 108.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of PayPal by 284.0% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $666,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 174.1% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,615,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161,582 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $65.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.51. The firm's 50-day moving average is $65.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.10.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.17. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.