Robert W. Baird Increases PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Price Target to $79.00

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $78.00 to $79.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price indicates a potential upside of 22.23% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on PYPL. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on PayPal in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Arete Research set a $81.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.19.

PayPal Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL traded down $1.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.63. 2,498,121 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,424,604. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $66.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. PayPal has a 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $93.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 29,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC increased its position in PayPal by 81.6% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 445 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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