PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded PayPal from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.13.

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PayPal Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PYPL stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,307,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,021,688. The company has a market cap of $57.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $73.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. PayPal has a 52 week low of $55.85 and a 52 week high of $93.66.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in PayPal by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,529,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in PayPal by 284.0% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $666,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 174.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,615,134,000 after buying an additional 2,161,582 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

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.