PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 1.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price traded up 1.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $81.48 and last traded at $80.24. 3,462,060 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 13,560,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on PayPal from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stephens upped their price objective on PayPal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on PayPal from $70.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Daiwa America raised shares of PayPal from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.45.

PayPal Stock Up 2.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.05. The firm has a market cap of $81.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.13. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The business had revenue of $7.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 7.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust grew its holdings in PayPal by 6.4% in the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 2,395 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of PayPal by 3.3% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,016 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.