PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 3.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) traded up 3.2% on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $80.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $91.80 and last traded at $91.74. 5,090,735 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 7,412,152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.92.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens upped their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their target price on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.32.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. FCG Investment Co increased its stake in PayPal by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 15,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at $257,000. Red Door Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in PayPal by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,089 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

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 $92.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.40 and its 200-day moving average is $76.72.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.