PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 0.4%

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) traded up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $59.40 and last traded at $59.20. 2,002,526 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 14,897,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PYPL. TD Cowen upped their price objective on PayPal from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JMP Securities increased their price target on PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.82.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.96 and a 200-day moving average of $62.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $62.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.42.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.14). PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $272,616.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $806,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,267,000. Bartlett & Co. LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 9,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 604.7% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 53,076 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,452,000 after purchasing an additional 45,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in PayPal by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 847,006 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,344,000 after purchasing an additional 73,687 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently 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.