PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.84.

Several analysts recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on PayPal from $104.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Arete Research set a $81.00 price objective on PayPal in a report on Thursday, March 27th. DZ Bank upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of PayPal by 67.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 344.3% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL stock opened at $61.00 on Friday. PayPal has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $93.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.28. The stock has a market cap of $60.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current 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.