PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares rose 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $82.00 and last traded at $81.25. Approximately 1,861,873 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 13,856,490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PYPL. Sanford C. Bernstein raised PayPal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on PayPal from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. William Blair upgraded PayPal to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.41.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $71.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released 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 firm had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in PayPal by 77.5% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. American National Bank bought a new position in PayPal in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the second quarter valued at $29,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 50.6% in the second quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PayPal during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.