PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Coverage Initiated at Evercore ISI

Analysts at Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "in-line" rating and a $65.00 price target on the credit services provider's stock. Evercore ISI's target price points to a potential upside of 3.85% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $104.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.32.

Remove Ads

PayPal Trading Up 3.4 %

PayPal stock traded up $2.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.59. 12,914,497 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,480,378. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $69.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.77. The company has a market capitalization of $61.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. PayPal has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. PayPal's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,736,394 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,849,884,000 after purchasing an additional 271,836 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in PayPal by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,615,134,000 after buying an additional 2,161,582 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in PayPal by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,529,823,000 after buying an additional 9,313,783 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $1,086,508,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,462,251 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $892,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669,908 shares during the period. 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.