PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 3.4%

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shot up 3.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $65.01 and last traded at $64.86. 3,751,774 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 14,654,772 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PYPL. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded PayPal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.94.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.23.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. PayPal’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $272,616.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of PayPal by 77.5% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank purchased a new position in PayPal during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the first quarter valued at $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently 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.