PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Raised to Hold at BMO Capital Markets

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was upgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of PayPal from $91.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.39.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PayPal stock traded down $1.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.92. 2,827,503 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,715,355. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.49 and its 200 day moving average is $55.48. The stock has a market cap of $44.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. PayPal has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $1,361,317.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,373,113.34. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total transaction of $98,763.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,140 shares in the company, valued at $50,992.20. The trade was a 65.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 over the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in PayPal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534,462 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in PayPal by 2.3% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 27,953,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,874,637,000 after purchasing an additional 636,441 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $949,758,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in PayPal by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,215,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $713,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in PayPal by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,803,241 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $513,966,000 after purchasing an additional 625,705 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal secured a multi?year NFL deal to be the league’s official peer?to?peer payments partner, a high?visibility partnership that likely drove short?term user/engagement optimism. PayPal Named Official Peer-to-Peer Payments Partner of the NFL
• Positive Sentiment: Street reaction: PYPL popped past $50 after the NFL announcement and commentators pointed to improved marketing reach and P2P growth potential. PYPL Stock Pops Past $50 as PayPal Locks Down NFL Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its target to $55, directly citing the NFL deal as a catalyst — this raised some optimism among investors about revenue/engagement upside. PayPal (PYPL) Stock: Bank of America Raises Target to $55 After NFL Deal
• Positive Sentiment: High?profile buying interest surfaced (Michael Burry opened a new position), which can attract attention and speculative flows into the stock. PayPal Stock Is Down More Than 80% Over the Past 5 Years. Michael Burry Is Buying the Dip.
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital initiated coverage with a Market Perform / Hold view — a neutral baseline that doesn’t endorse a rally but removes some outright bearishness. BMO Capital initiates coverage of PayPal Holdings (PYPL) with market perform recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Several overview pieces (Zacks, Yahoo) flagged PYPL as a trending name and questioned whether recent weakness represents a value opportunity — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution: Seeking Alpha and other outlets flagged downgrades / cautious hold calls and concerns around prior guidance misses, CEO turnover and shareholder lawsuits — these items keep downside risk elevated. PayPal: Still Holding On For Dear Life, A Cautious Hold (Downgrade)

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal’s platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal’s portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree’s developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.