PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Down 1.5%

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares were down 1.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $76.51 and last traded at $76.86. Approximately 2,794,474 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 14,006,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PYPL. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.38.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $81.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.12 and its 200 day moving average is $65.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. The business had revenue of $7.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in PayPal by 180.7% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,946,460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $287,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3,184,160 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,511,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $493,907,000 after buying an additional 1,866,925 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 125.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,724,188 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $105,882,000 after buying an additional 958,130 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,899,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,262,000 after buying an additional 687,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,297,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.