PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 1.3% Higher After Earnings Beat

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $79.50 and last traded at $78.76. 8,896,775 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 10,541,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.73.

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 net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of PayPal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of PayPal by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 208,260 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,251,000 after purchasing an additional 8,925 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,367,000. Ignite Planners LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 6,465 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $262,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $79.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.39.

PayPal Company Profile

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.