PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 0.1% After Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $65.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $67.44 and last traded at $66.20. 3,536,793 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 16,447,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.14.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stephens raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down from $118.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $63.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut PayPal from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Twenty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $466,079.04. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the first quarter valued at approximately $740,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in PayPal by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 313,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,969,000 after acquiring an additional 12,755 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 77.5% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. GSB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the first quarter valued at approximately $412,000. Finally, Horan Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 1st quarter valued at $204,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Stock Performance

The business's 50 day moving average is $63.39 and its 200 day moving average is $60.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. 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.