Morgan Stanley Cuts PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Price Target to $79.00

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $79.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PYPL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.29.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL stock opened at $77.31 on Wednesday. PayPal has a one year low of $55.77 and a one year high of $93.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.38. 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 company has a market capitalization of $76.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its 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. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in PayPal in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in PayPal by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in PayPal by 344.3% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in PayPal by 186.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 412 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in PayPal by 125.3% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 437 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.