Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $104.00 to $85.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PYPL. StockNews.com cut shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.40.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $65.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. PayPal has a 1 year low of $56.97 and a 1 year high of $93.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.86. The firm has a market cap of $64.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in PayPal by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 344.3% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.