PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $88.00. The stock had previously closed at $66.99, but opened at $70.00. Monness Crespi & Hardt currently has a buy rating on the stock. PayPal shares last traded at $69.64, with a volume of 17,976,552 shares trading hands.

PYPL has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on PayPal from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on PayPal from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on PayPal from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.72.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Frank Keller sold 7,686 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.64, for a total value of $466,079.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,795.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth $9,267,000. Bartlett & Co. LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 9,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 847,006 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $53,344,000 after buying an additional 73,687 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 20,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after buying an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its position in shares of PayPal by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 21,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,332,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $72.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $63.03 and its 200 day moving average is $60.27.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its 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). PayPal had a return on equity of 20.84% and a net margin of 14.26%. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

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.