PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 0.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shot up 0.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $69.80 and last traded at $69.33. 1,303,891 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 10,913,772 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PYPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, DZ Bank raised PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.03.

PayPal Trading Down 1.4 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.81. The company has a market cap of $68.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. PayPal’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at $2,916,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,207 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,174,000 after buying an additional 45,670 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 114,630 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,784,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,676,000. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,560,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.