PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 0.3% – Here’s Why

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $69.62 and last traded at $69.88. Approximately 2,772,273 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 10,889,311 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $78.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $69.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in PayPal by 108.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,529,823,000 after acquiring an additional 9,313,783 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 86.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in PayPal by 284.0% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $666,100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,772,198 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $387,435,000. 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.