Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on PayPal from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.03.

PayPal Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PYPL opened at $71.07 on Wednesday. PayPal has a one year low of $56.97 and a one year high of $93.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.94. 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 company has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 11.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,727 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in PayPal by 40.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 73,537 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,738,000 after acquiring an additional 21,002 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in PayPal by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 3,991 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $265,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth $723,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.