PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Argus downgraded shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America downgraded shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $77.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.47.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL traded up $0.42 on Thursday, reaching $66.99. 10,765,398 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,348,646. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.44. PayPal has a 52 week low of $50.25 and a 52 week high of $77.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.41.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in PayPal by 115.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.