PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Macquarie lifted their price target on PayPal from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on PayPal from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.74.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $91.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $84.09 and its 200 day moving average is $72.58. PayPal has a 1-year low of $55.77 and a 1-year high of $93.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Research analysts predict that PayPal will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the third quarter valued at about $53,586,000. 1ST Source Bank lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 2.5% in the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,975 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 120.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,555,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $125,461,000 after purchasing an additional 849,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 228,209 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,807,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.