StockNews.com Upgrades PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) to “Buy”

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on PayPal from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.03.

PayPal Stock Up 1.4 %

PYPL stock opened at $80.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.44. PayPal has a 52-week low of $50.25 and a 52-week high of $82.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.62.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 77.5% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. American National Bank bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of PayPal by 65.8% during the first quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the second quarter valued at $29,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.