PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on PayPal from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Susquehanna upped their price target on PayPal from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of PayPal from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $72.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $75.25.

PayPal Trading Up 2.2 %

PayPal stock opened at $69.43 on Friday. PayPal has a one year low of $50.25 and a one year high of $70.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $61.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.42. The company has a market capitalization of $70.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that PayPal will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the firm’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 value of $272,616.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $861,620.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $749,561,000. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of PayPal by 125.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,724,188 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $105,882,000 after acquiring an additional 958,130 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,644,317 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $445,103,000 after purchasing an additional 904,804 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 4,024.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 783,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $48,099,000 after purchasing an additional 764,258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.