PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.25.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

PayPal Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $64.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.42. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.23. PayPal has a 12-month low of $50.25 and a 12-month high of $70.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its 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. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that PayPal will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $272,616.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $861,620.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 19,150 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth $349,000. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 5,138 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 11,512 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 6,724.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 658,070 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,412,000 after purchasing an additional 648,427 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.