PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 0.4% Higher – Here’s Why

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $69.27 and last traded at $69.25. 1,868,852 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 12,049,593 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.02. The stock has a market cap of $69.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in PayPal by 344.3% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PayPal

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.