PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $68.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $62.46 and last traded at $62.21. Approximately 4,046,280 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 16,452,525 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.10.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on PayPal from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price target on PayPal from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on PayPal from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down from $118.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total transaction of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 4,514.3% in the 1st quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 146.5% in the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 382 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, American National Bank purchased a new stake in PayPal in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.95. The company has a market capitalization of $65.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 14.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Company Profile

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a technology platform that enables digital payments on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. It operates a two-sided network at scale that connects merchants and consumers that enables its customers to connect, transact, and send and receive payments through online and in person, as well as transfer and withdraw funds using various funding sources, such as bank accounts, PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products comprising its installment products, credit and debit cards, and cryptocurrencies, as well as other stored value products, including gift cards and eligible rewards.