PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Price Target Cut to $72.00 by Analysts at HSBC

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its price target cut by stock analysts at HSBC from $93.00 to $72.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. HSBC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 29.37% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on PayPal from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, KGI Securities lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.87.

PayPal Price Performance

PayPal stock traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.65. 2,595,090 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,257,373. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.93. PayPal has a 1 year low of $55.01 and a 1 year high of $90.93. The company has a market capitalization of $52.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.21 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 25.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,838 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.97, for a total transaction of $264,706.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,171,731.33. The trade was a 18.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.87, for a total value of $860,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,799.21. This trade represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,156 shares of company stock worth $2,432,524. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its stake in PayPal by 100.4% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87,524 shares in the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the second quarter worth $36,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.