PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 1.6% – Still a Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $88.33 and last traded at $88.25. Approximately 3,276,344 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 12,964,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PYPL shares. Stephens raised their target price on PayPal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Fifteen equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.42.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $88.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.55.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.13. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 50.6% during the second quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 930.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in PayPal by 186.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 412 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in PayPal by 125.3% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 437 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.