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

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

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PYPL. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays increased their target price on PayPal from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on PayPal from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on PayPal from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.58.

PayPal Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $76.76 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $67.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $78.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal has a 52-week low of $50.25 and a 52-week high of $78.25.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 9,659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569 shares during the period. Balentine LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $266,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 198.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 429,954 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,403,000 after purchasing an additional 285,847 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 109.8% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $294,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.