PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Sets New 52-Week High at $74.40

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $74.40 and last traded at $73.08, with a volume of 290777 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PYPL. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on PayPal from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on PayPal from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.56.

PayPal Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $70.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. The business had revenue of $7.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in PayPal by 77.5% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 50.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.