PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 1% After Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) traded up 1% on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $79.00 to $87.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $79.53 and last traded at $78.97. 3,230,179 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 13,590,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.22.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.03.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 7.4% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust increased its position in PayPal by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 2,395 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 50.6% during the second quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its stake in PayPal by 4.4% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,016 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $82.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. The firm had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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.