PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 1.3% After Strong Earnings

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) were up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $79.50 and last traded at $78.76. Approximately 8,896,775 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 10,541,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.73.

The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on PYPL shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on PayPal from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on PayPal from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.29.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 113.8% in the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 7,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 3,976 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $387,435,000. United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $810,000. FCG Investment Co acquired a new position in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,079,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp grew its holdings in PayPal by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,998,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $155,927,000 after acquiring an additional 67,497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Down 0.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $78.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.39.

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.