PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 4.3% – Still a Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price was up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $86.62 and last traded at $86.62. Approximately 3,855,085 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 13,502,829 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on PayPal from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $90.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.45.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $87.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in PayPal by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 201,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,715,000 after buying an additional 48,383 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 86.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,762,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,307,945,000 after acquiring an additional 7,767,072 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 50.7% during the third quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 17,043 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 5,736 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in PayPal by 29.3% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,758,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $137,185,000 after purchasing an additional 397,985 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 4.0% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. 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.