PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 0.2% on Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $68.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $62.46 and last traded at $62.21. Approximately 4,046,280 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 16,452,525 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.10.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on PayPal from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on PayPal from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on PayPal from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on PayPal from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.47.

Insider Activity

In other 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its position in PayPal by 4,514.3% in the first quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 323 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in PayPal by 146.5% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 382 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, American National Bank bought a new stake in PayPal in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $65.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.93.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.12. PayPal had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 3.93 EPS for the current 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.