PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 1.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shot up 1.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $61.32 and last traded at $61.02. 3,458,799 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 11,438,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PYPL shares. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.84.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $60.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.17.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in PayPal by 108.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,823,000 after buying an additional 9,313,783 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in PayPal by 284.0% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $666,100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,772,198 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 174.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in PayPal by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161,582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.