The stock markets have been under pressure since the start of the year due to the macroeconomic headwinds and worsening geopolitical tensions. Furthermore, market volatility has surged 17.4% over the past five days as Russia invades Ukraine. President Biden has announced new economic sanctions against Russia in response to its full-scale invasion.

These concerns have added to prevailing worries surrounding the Fed’s forthcoming interest rate increases to combat inflation. The benchmark S&P 500 Index has declined 8% year-to-date and 4.6% over the past three months. As a result of the escalating Russia-Ukraine war, more than 94% of the stocks in the S&P 500 have declined over the past two weeks.

And renowned S&P 500 constituents PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL), Moderna, Inc. (MRNA), and EPAM Systems, Inc. (EPAM) have been among the worst-performing stocks so far this year.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL)

PYPL is a San Jose. Calif.-based technology platform and digital payments company. It enables digital payments on behalf of consumers and merchants worldwide. PYPL offers payment solutions under PayPal, PayPal Credit, Venmo, Xoom, Hyperwallet, Honey, and Paidy. The company allows its customers to use their accounts to purchase and pay and transfer and withdraw funds.

Last December, PYPL was investigated by Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. on behalf of long-term stockholders. The investigation addressed concerns that included whether the company’s board of directors had breached their fiduciary duties to the company.

In its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2021, PYPL’s total operating expenses increased 17.5% year-over-year to $5.41 billion. PYPL’s income before taxes declined 62% year-over-year to $706 million. PYPL’s net income fell 48.9% year-over-year to $801 million. And the company’s net income per share decreased 48.5% from its  year-ago value to $0.68.

The $0.88 consensus EPS for its fiscal year 2022 first quarter, ending March 31, 2022, represents a 28.2% year-over-year decline.

The stock has declined 41.2% in price year-to-date and 59.5% over the past year. PYPL closed Friday’s trading session at $110.94.

PYPL’s POWR Ratings are consistent with this bleak outlook. The POWR Ratings assess stocks by 118 different factors, each with its own weighting.

The stock has a grade of D for Sentiment. Within the D-rated Consumer Financial Services industry, it is ranked #43 of 52 stocks.

To see additional POWR Ratings (Value, Quality, Stability, Momentum, and Growth) for PYPL, click here.

Moderna, Inc. (MRNA)

MRNA in Cambridge, Mass., is a biotechnology company. It develops and markets therapeutics and vaccines based on messenger RNA to treat infectious diseases, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and auto-immune diseases. The company has more than 13 programs in clinical trials and 24 development programs in six modalities.

Today, Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (ABUS) and its licensee Genevant Sciences filed a lawsuit against MRNA seeking fair compensation for Moderna’s use of their patented technology. MRNA might have to pay hefty royalties if the claims are meritorious.

MRNA’s total operating expenses increased 112.9% year-over-year to $1.80 billion in its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2021. MRNA’s cash used for purchases of property and equipment grew 317.6% year-over-year to $284 million for fiscal 2021.

MRNA’s EPS is expected to decline 7% year-over-year to $6.01 for its fiscal 2022 second quarter, ending June 30, 2022.

MRNA’s stock has slumped 40.4% in price year-to-date and 3.9% over the past year. It closed Friday’s trading session at $151.33.

MRNA’s POWR Ratings reflect this bleak outlook. It’s no surprise that MRNA has an F grade for Momentum and Stability. Within the F-rated Biotech industry, it is ranked #22 of 439 stocks.

To see additional POWR Ratings (Growth, Quality, Value, and Sentiment) for MRNA, click here.

Click here to checkout our Healthcare Sector Report for 2022

EPAM Systems, Inc. (EPAM)

EPAM offers digital platform engineering and software development services in North America, Europe, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia. The Newtown, Pa.-based company offers a wide range of services, including engineering, infrastructure management, operation solutions, technical advisory consulting services, digital and service design solutions, testing services, and financial services.

In its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2021, EPAM’s cost of revenues increased 55.5% year-over-year to $710.24 million. Its selling, general, and administrative expenses grew 47.7% year-over-year to $173.07 million. The company’s interest and other losses worsened 112.2% year-over-year to $4.36 million. In addition, EPAM’s foreign exchange loss for the fourth quarter amounted to $1.36 million.

Shares of EPAM have declined 42.8% in price year-to-date and 39.7% over the past three months. It closed Friday’s trading session at $382.43.

EPAM’s POWR Ratings reflect its poor prospects. It has a grade of D for Value. It is ranked #46 of 165 stocks in the F-rated Software – Application industry.

Click here to see EPAM’s POWR Ratings for Growth, Quality, Momentum, Sentiment, and Stability.

Click here to check out our Software Industry Report for 2022

PYPL shares were trading at $113.26 per share on Monday morning, up $2.32 (+2.09%). Year-to-date, PYPL has declined -39.94%, versus a -7.75% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

About the Author: Mangeet Kaur Bouns

Mangeet’s keen interest in the stock market led her to become an investment researcher and financial journalist. Using her fundamental approach to analyzing stocks, Mangeet’s looks to help retail investors understand the underlying factors before making investment decisions. More...

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