PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 2.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) was up 2.9% during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $94.00 to $97.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $90.08 and last traded at $89.74. Approximately 2,656,718 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 7,092,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.18.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on PYPL. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upgraded PayPal from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Phillip Securities reiterated an "accumulate" rating and set a $90.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.16.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in PayPal in the third quarter worth $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in PayPal by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 344.3% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in PayPal by 186.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 412 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Price Performance

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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $86.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About PayPal

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.