PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 1.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was up 1.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $66.84 and last traded at $66.85. Approximately 1,580,797 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 11,181,806 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America upgraded PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.40.

PayPal Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.83. The firm has a market cap of $66.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,529,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in PayPal by 284.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the third quarter worth $387,435,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position 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 valued at $361,316,000 after buying an additional 2,689,162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.