PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded at Susquehanna

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was upgraded by analysts at Susquehanna from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $71.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective points to a potential upside of 22.82% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on PYPL. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, May 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.82.

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL stock opened at $57.81 on Tuesday. PayPal has a one year low of $50.25 and a one year high of $76.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $60.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.14). PayPal had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that PayPal will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in PayPal by 4.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 20,069,337 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,173,254,000 after buying an additional 873,181 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $749,561,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,976,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,449,000 after purchasing an additional 265,116 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 15.8% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,644,317 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $445,103,000 after purchasing an additional 904,804 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,668,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $225,283,000 after purchasing an additional 61,384 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.