PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $69.38 and last traded at $68.19. Approximately 3,104,581 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 12,172,038 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $67.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.90.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,941 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in shares of PayPal by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 12,736 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 2,120 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $349,000. Finally, Simmons Bank grew its position in shares of PayPal by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 26,577 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after buying an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.