PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 3.2% After Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) shares rose 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $80.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $91.80 and last traded at $91.74. Approximately 5,090,735 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 7,412,152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.92.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PYPL. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on PayPal from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised PayPal from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $107.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.32.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in PayPal by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 344.3% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of PayPal by 186.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 412 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.23 and a 200 day moving average of $76.49. 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 cap of $92.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.44.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS 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.