Brokerages Set PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) PT at $85.00

Key Points

• PayPal Holdings, Inc. has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from 33 analysts, with 2 sell ratings, 14 hold ratings, and 17 buy ratings, leading to an average 1-year price target of $85.00.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with Director Deborah M. Messemer and EVP Diego Scotti selling shares, resulting in a combined total of 22,736 shares sold worth approximately $1.6 million over the last three months.
• PayPal's latest quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $1.40 EPS on revenue of $8.29 billion, indicating strong business performance in comparison to analysts' forecasts.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the thirty-three brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $85.00.

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PayPal from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $69.38. The stock had a trading volume of 10,669,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,971,066. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $72.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $66.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.42. PayPal has a twelve month low of $55.85 and a twelve month high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.08 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.49% and a return on equity of 25.35%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 7,102 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total value of $492,523.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,838 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.12, for a total transaction of $265,282.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,174,279.68. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,736 shares of company stock valued at $1,620,835 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its position in PayPal by 726.0% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 413 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 81.6% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 445 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PayPal

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.