PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 0.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares traded up 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $71.66 and last traded at $71.48. 1,364,206 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 10,911,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PYPL has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Down 0.5 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.93 and its 200-day moving average is $80.91. The company has a market capitalization of $69.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 113.8% during the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 7,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 3,976 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $387,435,000. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its stake in PayPal by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 697,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $59,489,000 after purchasing an additional 18,172 shares during the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 33,302 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 7,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PayPal by 120.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,555,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $125,461,000 after purchasing an additional 849,311 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.