PayPal Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:PYPL)

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 113,851 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 33% compared to the average volume of 85,827 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Fourteen 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.52.

PayPal Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of PayPal stock traded down $1.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.23. 14,438,737 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,590,841. PayPal has a twelve month low of $56.97 and a twelve month high of $93.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. PayPal’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $1,086,508,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 12,919.4% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,500,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $819,315,000 after purchasing an additional 10,419,351 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of PayPal by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,529,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,762,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,307,945,000 after purchasing an additional 7,767,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of PayPal by 284.0% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $666,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.