PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 3.1% – What’s Next?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was up 3.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $86.95 and last traded at $86.62. Approximately 2,537,429 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 6,823,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PayPal from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Macquarie increased their price objective on PayPal from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.65.

PayPal Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $86.75 and its 200-day moving average is $76.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $87.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued 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. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in PayPal by 12,919.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,500,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $819,315,000 after purchasing an additional 10,419,351 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,762,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,307,945,000 after purchasing an additional 7,767,072 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the third quarter valued at $387,435,000. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in PayPal by 180.7% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,946,460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $287,043,000 after buying an additional 3,184,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,511,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $493,907,000 after buying an additional 1,866,925 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.