PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 0.3% - Here's Why

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) rose 0.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $69.38 and last traded at $68.19. Approximately 3,104,581 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 12,172,038 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PYPL. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of PayPal from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $107.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of PayPal from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.03.

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PayPal Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $81.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.08.

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

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth $463,000. United Bank raised its position in shares of PayPal by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,941 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of PayPal by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 12,736 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,782 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 2,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its stake in PayPal by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 4,319 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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