PayPal (PYPL) Gains 5.42% on July 20, Proving Carl Icahn Right

(Continued from Prior Part)

PayPal (PYPL) begins trading on the NASDAQ

Investor attention focused on PayPal’s (PYPL) stock, which began regular trading on the NASDAQ Exchange on July 20. The NASDAQ Composite Index was up 0.17%, while the tech-heavy PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ), which tracks the NASDAQ-100 Index, was up 0.34% on July 20’s close. PayPal (PYPL) joined the list of companies trading on the exchange.

PayPal has spun off from eBay

The digital payment platform spun off from the online auction portal eBay (EBAY) on July 17. PayPal stock ended 5.42% higher on its first day of regular trading, July 20. eBay also gained 2.40%. PayPal is set to join the S&P 500 Index (SPY), replacing the offshore drilling company Noble (NE). It should also replace eBay in the S&P 100 index.

PayPal’s growth potential

PayPal has recorded a 19% rise in its year-over-year revenues compared to eBay, which managed to grow its sales by 6%. PayPal, with over $46 billion in market capitalization compared to eBay’s $34 billion, is poised for growth. In the second quarter, the company had around 169 million users and processed $1.1 billion in payments, with its transaction volume up 27% over the prior year.

Carl Icahn was right

Activist investor Carl Icahn predicted the spin-off of PayPal way back in September 2014, when he commented, “PayPal’s a jewel and eBay is covering up its value.” Icahn had also publicly stressed that the soon-to-be-independent electronic payment business would make a prime takeover target. Although he didn’t take names, market commentators expect companies like Google (GOOGL), Visa (VISA), and Mastercard (MA) to be in the lead for any such event.

June 21 earnings

Apple (AAPL), Baker Hughes (BHI), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), Illumina (ILMN), Microsoft (MSFT), Novartis (NVS), ProLogis (PLD), SAP (SAP), TD Ameritrade (AMTD), The Travelers Companies (TRV), United Technologies (UTX), Verizon Communications (VZ), and Yahoo! (YHOO) report their second-quarter earnings today.

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Browse this series on Market Realist:

• Part 1 - 6 of 9 S&P 500 Sectors Gained on July 20, Tech (XLK) Still Leading