Shares of the financial technology company PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) are down about 21% year-to-date, underperforming the broader market. Nonetheless, the company announced senior leadership changes, establishing three new business units and focusing on cost savings to boost its performance. As PayPal stock could witness a recovery due to the ongoing initiatives to reaccelerate growth, it prompts the question: who owns PYPL?
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Now, according to TipRanks’ ownership page, PayPal is mostly owned by Other Institutional Investors at 40.76%, followed by public companies and individual investors, mutual funds, and insiders at 34.67%, 16.85%, and 7.72%, respectively.
Digging Deeper into PayPal’s Ownership Structure
As insiders own a significant stake in PayPal, Pierre Omidyar is the top shareholder, holding approximately 7.62% of the company. Overall, PYPL is primarily owned by institutional investors, and a detailed examination of institutional ownership shows that Vanguard has a stake of approximately 7.29%. Following closely is Vanguard Index Funds, with a notable ownership stake of 6.68% in the company.
Among the other institutions, the Hedge Fund Confidence Signal is Very Negative on PayPal stock based on the activity of 37 hedge funds.
While the Hedge Fund Confidence Signal is Very Negative on PYPL, individual investors are neither bullish nor bearish. Of the 703,959 portfolios monitored by TipRanks, only 2.5% have invested in PayPal stock. This small participation suggests that investors aren’t confident about PayPal’s prospects, at least in the near term.
Is PayPal a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Wall Street analysts are cautiously optimistic about PayPal stock due to near-term margin concerns. With 22 Buy and 11 Hold recommendations, PayPal stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating.
Further, the average PYPL stock price target of $84.17 indicates that it has the potential to go up by 49.40% from current levels.
Bottom Line
The ownership composition of PayPal stock shows a healthy mix of institutional, retail, insider, and individual investors. While concerns over credit quality and unfavorable mix could pressure its margins in the short term, the company is taking initiatives to reaccelerate growth, which could lead to a recovery in its share price.
