PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 4.4%

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price was up 4.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $63.15 and last traded at $63.14. Approximately 4,259,121 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 14,661,918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Mizuho raised shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of PayPal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research began coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, May 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.94.

PayPal Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $64.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.28 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $7.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. Analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $749,561,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 125.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,724,188 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $105,882,000 after purchasing an additional 958,130 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,644,317 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $445,103,000 after acquiring an additional 904,804 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in PayPal by 4,024.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 783,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $48,099,000 after acquiring an additional 764,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in PayPal by 1,309.2% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 800,648 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,168,000 after acquiring an additional 743,833 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.