Should You Avoid Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL)?

Judging by the fact that Paypal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) has faced a declination in interest from the smart money, we can see that there was a specific group of hedgies who sold their entire stakes during Q4. Interestingly, Kenneth Mario Garschina’s Mason Capital Management sold off the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, worth an estimated $153 million in call options, and James Dinan’s York Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $56.1 million worth of shares. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by three funds heading into 2016.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Paypal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL). These stocks are Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL), Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), and Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW). This group of stocks’ market values are similar to PYPL’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 44 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $4.51 billion. That figure was $5.48 billion in PYPL’s case. Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) is the least popular one with only 35 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Paypal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.

Disclosure: None