PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 0.3% - Here's Why

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $72.67 and last traded at $72.51. Approximately 1,458,303 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 11,210,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. Compass Point started coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "sell" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $117.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.68.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $66.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.23. The stock has a market cap of $69.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.51.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.17. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,221,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,625,976,000 after purchasing an additional 276,339 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,736,394 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,849,884,000 after buying an additional 271,836 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,615,134,000 after buying an additional 2,161,582 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in PayPal by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,529,823,000 after buying an additional 9,313,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $1,086,508,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

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.