PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 1.1% – Here’s Why

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price was up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $66.84 and last traded at $66.85. Approximately 1,580,797 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 11,181,806 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PYPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.40.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.83. The stock has a market cap of $66.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of PayPal by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in PayPal by 67.6% during 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. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in PayPal by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.1% in the 4th 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. Finally, Avalon Trust Co boosted its stake in PayPal by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 2,067 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 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.