The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs raised its price target on PayPal from $40 to $41 but kept a sell rating, implying about 7.4% downside from the stock’s current price.
• Recent analyst sentiment is mixed: while some firms lifted targets or upgraded shares, the overall consensus remains Hold with a consensus price target of $55.88.
• PayPal’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.34 EPS and $8.35 billion in revenue, while insiders have also sold shares in recent weeks.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $40.00 to $41.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "sell" rating on the credit services provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective indicates a potential downside of 7.43% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup increased their price target on PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on PayPal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.88.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $44.29 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $45.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.50. PayPal has a fifty-two week low of $38.46 and a fifty-two week high of $79.50. The company has a market cap of $39.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. PayPal's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PayPal news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total value of $196,194.48. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,768,260.18. This trade represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,325,762.57. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623 in the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sapient Capital LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,197 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. now owns 77,369 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,499,000 after acquiring an additional 23,921 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,151 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 350,802 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $15,867,000 after acquiring an additional 86,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal's platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal's portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree's developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.

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