PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 0.4%

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price shot up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $59.40 and last traded at $59.20. 2,002,526 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 14,897,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PYPL shares. UBS Group increased 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, May 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.82.

PayPal Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.96 and its 200-day moving average is $62.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $272,616.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,976 shares in the company, valued at $861,620.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $749,561,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 125.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,724,188 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $105,882,000 after buying an additional 958,130 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.8% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,644,317 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $445,103,000 after acquiring an additional 904,804 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 20,069,337 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,173,254,000 after acquiring an additional 873,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in PayPal by 4,024.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 783,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $48,099,000 after acquiring an additional 764,258 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently 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.