Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Citigroup from $97.00 to $98.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 24.73% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $90.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on PayPal from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.29.

PayPal Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $78.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.87 and a 200-day moving average of $79.39. PayPal has a 52 week low of $55.77 and a 52 week high of $93.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that PayPal will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in PayPal by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 7.4% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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. 68.32% of the stock is currently 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.