PayPal Joins Nvidia, Palantir, Tesla in 10 Most Active Stock Options
$PayPal(PYPL)$
More than 346,000 call and put options were traded as of 1:06 p.m. in New York, landing PayPal in the sixth slot for the most active stock options, behind $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$
PayPal expects transaction margin dollars to grow 4% to 5% in the first quarter, slower than the 7% expansion in the fourth quarter. Total payment volume growth decelerated to 7% in the fourth quarter, from 14% a year earlier. Branded checkout grew 6%, up slightly from 5% a year earlier. These overshadowed the company's earnings and revenue that beat analysts' estimates for the fourth quarter.
The guidance implies "minimal acceleration through the year," JPMorgan analysts including Tien-tsin Huang, wrote in a note. "Stable branded growth likely disappoints."
The stock fell 11% to $79.17, pushing a number of call options out of the money with just three days left before expiration. The heaviest trading was in call options that give the holders the right to buy the stock at $90 by Friday, with volume reaching 16,960 contracts, more than double the open interest.
The pullback came after a 45% rally in PayPal shares in the 12 months through yesterday. That's more than double the pace of gains for the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ and the $NASDAQ 100 Index (.NDX.US)$ over that period.
Despite signs of slowing growth, analysts' average price target on the stock remained unchanged at $96.19, implying about a 20% potential upside from PayPal's current stock price.
While growth in transaction margin dollars is slowing, the company's earnings outlook still surpassed analysts' estimates. PayPal sees adjusted earnings growing at least 6% to between $1.15 to $1.17 per share. That compares with the average analyst estimate of $1.15.
For the three months that ended Dec. 31, revenue rose 4% to $8.37 billion, exceeding Wall Street consensus that called for about $8.27 billion, according to analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Adjusted earnings gained 5% to $1.19, beating estimates by 5.3%. Active accounts rose 2% to 434 million, above consensus that called for 433.1 million.
@TigerStars @CaptainTiger @TigerWire @Daily_Discussion @Tiger_chat @Tiger_comments @MillionaireTiger
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.
