PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 0.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) traded up 0.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $87.40 and last traded at $86.88. 2,299,760 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 13,487,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Daiwa America upgraded shares of PayPal from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.45.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.25 and its 200 day moving average is $68.76.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. On average, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at $810,000. FCG Investment Co purchased a new stake in PayPal during the third quarter valued at about $1,079,000. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in PayPal during the second quarter worth about $1,454,000. Weil Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 41,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,253,000 after purchasing an additional 17,003 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 115.9% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 26,223 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 14,079 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Company Profile

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.