PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 2.9% After Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price was up 2.9% on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $94.00 to $97.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $90.08 and last traded at $89.74. Approximately 2,656,718 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 7,092,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.18.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on PayPal from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.16.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 67.6% in 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 during the period. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Brave Asset Management Inc. grew its position in PayPal by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Brave Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust increased its stake in PayPal by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 2,395 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $90.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.31.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $7.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

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.