PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 0.8% – Time to Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price rose 0.8% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $70.81 and last traded at $70.54. Approximately 1,629,331 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 10,906,444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Fourteen equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.03.

PayPal Trading Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $68.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $78.82 and its 200 day moving average is $80.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of PayPal by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co boosted its stake in PayPal by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 2,067 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is 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.