PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 1.3% - Still a Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $90.93 and last traded at $89.89. 2,791,391 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 7,900,265 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut PayPal from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on PayPal from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.48.

PayPal Trading Down 13.2 %

The business's fifty day moving average price is $88.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. PayPal's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Financial Group LTD grew its holdings in PayPal by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 6,916 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,008,000. GHE LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 28,214 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 66,920 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,712,000 after buying an additional 3,226 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,516 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 831 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.