PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 3.4% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price was up 3.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $65.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $70.66 and last traded at $69.27. Approximately 23,027,576 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the average daily volume of 16,320,342 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.99.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank cut shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $66.00 target price (down from $118.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of PayPal from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Twenty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.73.

Insider Activity at PayPal

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 5.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 217,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,688,000 after purchasing an additional 11,030 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 51.8% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 5.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 478,411 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,968,000 after buying an additional 24,231 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 15.5% in the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth $58,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $69.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.45.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.14). PayPal had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 14.26%. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.02 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.