PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 0.9% After Strong Earnings

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) rose 0.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $67.43 and last traded at $65.54. Approximately 9,870,617 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 11,452,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.93.

The credit services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.17. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.77.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in PayPal by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 81.6% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 445 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.20. The firm has a market cap of $65.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60.

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.