PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 1.7% After Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) traded up 1.7% during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $76.00 to $90.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $88.42 and last traded at $86.88. 2,580,144 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 12,966,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.45.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on PYPL. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on PayPal in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an "accumulate" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered PayPal from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Fifteen 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in shares of PayPal by 125.3% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 437 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.36 and a 200-day moving average of $72.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44.

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

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.