PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PYPL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $104.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $103.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.72.

PayPal Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of PYPL opened at $65.84 on Thursday. PayPal has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $93.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.08 and its 200-day moving average is $78.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.84 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related 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 approximately $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in PayPal by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,529,823,000 after acquiring an additional 9,313,783 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in PayPal by 284.0% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $666,100,000 after acquiring an additional 5,772,198 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in PayPal by 174.1% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $361,316,000 after acquiring an additional 2,689,162 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,134,000 after buying an additional 2,161,582 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.