PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. JMP Securities lifted their target price on PayPal from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $63.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. New Street Research started coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, May 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.82.

PayPal Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of PYPL opened at $59.12 on Tuesday. PayPal has a 12-month low of $50.25 and a 12-month high of $76.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 77.5% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the first quarter worth $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.