PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 1% – Here’s What Happened

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price traded up 1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $68.48 and last traded at $68.17. 3,115,353 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 11,983,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.03.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.85 and a 200 day moving average of $81.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings 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. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 344.3% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.