PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 1.7% After Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $76.00 to $90.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $88.42 and last traded at $86.88. 2,580,144 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 12,966,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.45.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded PayPal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens raised their target price on PayPal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on PayPal from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 7.4% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust grew its holdings in PayPal by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 2,395 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in PayPal by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc now owns 4,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.13. 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.