Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Increases Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 541.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 71,314 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,203 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in PayPal were worth $5,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 50.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 930.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 125.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 437 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL traded up $1.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.01. 8,144,180 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,546,967. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.87 and a fifty-two week high of $83.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $83.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.28.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.13. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The business had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on PayPal from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on PayPal from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on PayPal from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities reiterated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.45.

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.