PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 0.1% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) were up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $79.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $80.79 and last traded at $80.58. Approximately 1,345,063 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 13,775,230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.51.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of PayPal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in PayPal by 77.5% in 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 during the last quarter. American National Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $84.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.22.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. The company had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 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.