PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 1.5% After Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.5% on Monday after Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $88.00. Monness Crespi & Hardt currently has a buy rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $67.24 and last traded at $66.98. 4,238,492 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 16,067,842 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.96.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. American National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 115.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 443 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company's 50 day moving average price is $63.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.27. The company has a market cap of $70.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.45.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.12. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 20.84%. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.02 earnings per share 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.