PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 2.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price rose 2.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $68.47 and last traded at $68.50. Approximately 2,505,247 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 12,108,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. DZ Bank raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.03.

PayPal Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $68.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $79.96 and its 200-day moving average is $80.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. PayPal’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PayPal by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,736,394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,849,884,000 after purchasing an additional 271,836 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,161,582 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in PayPal by 108.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,529,823,000 after acquiring an additional 9,313,783 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,086,508,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in PayPal by 12,919.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,500,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $819,315,000 after acquiring an additional 10,419,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.