PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $89.51, but opened at $82.26. PayPal shares last traded at $80.91, with a volume of 13,602,463 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.29.

PayPal Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $79.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in PayPal by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in PayPal in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in PayPal by 344.3% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 186.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 412 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 125.3% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 437 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is 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.