PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares were down 1.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $58.81 and last traded at $59.07. 8,285,867 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 19,205,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.78.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal continues to screen as a value opportunity after its substantial multiyear decline. Analysts point to relatively attractive valuation metrics, earnings performance above consensus, and ongoing cost-efficiency and turnaround efforts as potential catalysts. Here’s Why PayPal Is a Strong Value Stock
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal was highlighted in a payments-industry outlook alongside Visa, Mastercard, Fidelity and WEX, keeping attention on the company’s potential relative value and competitive position. Zacks Industry Outlook: Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Fidelity and WEX
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst upgrade provided additional support for PayPal’s investment case, reinforcing the view that the shares may be undervalued following their long-term decline. PayPal Trading Up After Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Activist investor Carl Icahn is urging eBay to overhaul its board and spin off PayPal, citing governance concerns and potential conflicts. A separation could increase PayPal’s strategic independence, but the proposal remains uncertain and primarily targets eBay. What Does eBay Face After Carl Icahn Demands a Board Overhaul?
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal’s shares remain below the $60.50 bid previously rejected by its board, signaling that investors are skeptical a transaction will materialize or that the company can justify a higher valuation without further operational proof. PayPal Still Trades Below the $60.50 Bid Its Board Turned Down
• Negative Sentiment: Although PayPal appears inexpensive on earnings, analysts also flag weaker growth, leaving investors dependent on successful execution of the turnaround and cost-cutting plans. PayPal Stock Looks Undervalued on Earnings but Weaker on Growth

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PYPL. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on PayPal from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 target price on PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Clear Str upgraded shares of PayPal to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group set a $45.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.72.

PayPal Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $48.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 14.36%.The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is presently 10.59%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,762.57. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total transaction of $77,679.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,749.60. The trade was a 37.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,612 shares of company stock worth $484,534. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the second quarter worth $25,000. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the first quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in PayPal by 15,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Company Profile

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.