PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 1% After Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price was up 1% during trading on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $79.00 to $87.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $79.53 and last traded at $78.97. Approximately 3,230,179 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 13,590,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.22.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of PayPal from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.03.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in PayPal by 180.7% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,946,460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $287,043,000 after acquiring an additional 3,184,160 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in PayPal by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,511,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $493,907,000 after buying an additional 1,866,925 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 9,864.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,119,262 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $87,336,000 after buying an additional 1,108,030 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 139.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,544,179 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $120,492,000 after acquiring an additional 899,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 31.1% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,899,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,262,000 after acquiring an additional 687,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.39 and a 200-day moving average of $67.56. 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 stock has a market cap of $82.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

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.