PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 1% Following Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares were up 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $79.00 to $87.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $79.53 and last traded at $78.97. Approximately 3,230,179 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 13,590,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.22.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on PYPL. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on PayPal from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on PayPal from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.29.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 77.5% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the second quarter valued at $29,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 930.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its holdings in PayPal by 65.8% during the 1st quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Stock Down 2.6 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.66. The company has a market capitalization of $77.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The firm had revenue of $7.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.54 EPS for the current year.

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.