PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 1.3% Higher Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price traded up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $79.50 and last traded at $78.76. 8,896,775 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 10,541,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.73.

The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered PayPal from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.29.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in PayPal by 67.6% in the fourth 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. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 344.3% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp increased 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 buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Up 1.7 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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.