Kovack Advisors Inc. Acquires 3,744 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 10.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,615 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,744 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $2,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 4.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 20,069,337 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,173,254,000 after acquiring an additional 873,181 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $749,561,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,976,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $428,449,000 after purchasing an additional 265,116 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of PayPal by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,668,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $225,283,000 after buying an additional 61,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in PayPal by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,891,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $177,541,000 after buying an additional 306,613 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.64. 6,908,317 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,210,254. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.25 and a 1 year high of $76.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.96 and a 200 day moving average of $62.39.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.14). PayPal had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 14.26%. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $272,616.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on PayPal from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $63.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, May 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.82.

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.