PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Down 2.4% on Disappointing Earnings

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price dropped 2.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $65.64 and last traded at $66.32. Approximately 6,715,668 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 16,466,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.92.

The credit services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PYPL. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on PayPal from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens boosted their price objective on PayPal from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on PayPal from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, DZ Bank cut PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 9th. Twenty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $9,267,000. Bartlett & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 9,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 847,006 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $53,344,000 after acquiring an additional 73,687 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 4.9% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 20,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 21,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $69.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.39.

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.