PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $65.00. The stock had previously closed at $66.99, but opened at $70.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PayPal shares last traded at $69.64, with a volume of 17,976,552 shares traded.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on PYPL. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on PayPal from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Twenty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.73.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total transaction of $466,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 115.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. American National Bank purchased a new stake in PayPal in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Down 2.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $69.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.39.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.