Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Buys 31,500 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 150.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,500 shares during the quarter. PayPal accounts for 0.8% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PayPal were worth $3,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 81.6% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 445 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of PYPL traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,370,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,842,447. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $93.66. The firm has a market cap of $71.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.38.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.84 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 14.26%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Macquarie decreased their price target on PayPal from $117.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of America dropped their target price on PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 3,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $277,035.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,020,248. The trade was a 21.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.24, for a total value of $304,824.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 48,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,550,894.92. The trade was a 7.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,796 shares of company stock worth $863,028. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Profile

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.