UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at UBS Group from $72.00 to $85.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on PayPal from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on PayPal from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on PayPal from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.03.

PayPal Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $79.30 on Wednesday. PayPal has a one year low of $50.80 and a one year high of $83.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $79.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 77.5% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in PayPal by 125.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 437 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 65.8% during the 1st quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.