Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Positive Forecast for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein raised its PayPal price target from $55 to $60 but kept a “market perform” rating; the target implies just 1.71% upside from the share price cited in the report.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly cautious: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target of $56.37, with 8 Buy, 32 Hold, and 6 Sell ratings.
• PayPal beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.45 per share versus a $1.31 consensus, while revenue of $8.58 billion fell short of analysts’ $8.71 billion forecast.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $55.00 to $60.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.71% from the company's current price.

PYPL has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on PayPal from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PayPal from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on PayPal from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on PayPal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.37.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $58.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,193,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,885,365. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.13. PayPal has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $67.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $49.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.33.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $8.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.71 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 24.39%. PayPal's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.96, for a total transaction of $253,715.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,723.68. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 552 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.80, for a total value of $30,249.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $131,520. This represents a 18.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 13,437 shares of company stock valued at $768,417 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Recent PayPal Headlines

Investors following PYPL have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Venmo introduced receipt scanning to itemize shared purchases and calculate each person’s share, including tax and tip. The feature could make the app more useful for group payments and encourage engagement, though its financial impact is not yet clear. Venmo Adds Receipt Scanning to Simplify Bill Splitting
• Negative Sentiment: Germany’s antitrust authority said PayPal’s restrictions on merchants’ ability to surcharge customers for payment fees may impede competition. The scrutiny raises regulatory risk and could lead to constraints on PayPal’s merchant practices if authorities take further action. German antitrust authority says PayPal practices may restrict competition

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc. operates a global digital payments platform that helps consumers and businesses send and receive payments online and in person. Its services include PayPal checkout and digital wallets, Venmo peer-to-peer payments, Braintree payment processing for merchants, and Xoom international money transfers. The company traces its roots to Confinity, founded in 1998, and the online payments business that developed through its merger with X.com. PayPal became part of eBay in 2002 and was spun off as an independent public company in 2015.

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