PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PYPL. Macquarie increased their price target on PayPal from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.45.

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL opened at $81.41 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $81.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.05. PayPal has a 1 year low of $53.55 and a 1 year high of $83.70.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 18.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 234,147 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,686,000 after buying an additional 36,994 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal during the first quarter worth approximately $740,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in PayPal by 2.6% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 12,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in PayPal by 23.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $176,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.