Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 9.82% from the company’s previous close.

PYPL has been the subject of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on PayPal from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Macquarie raised their target price on PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on PayPal from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.55.

PayPal Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of PayPal stock traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,037,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,521,541. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.02. 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 has a 1-year low of $56.97 and a 1-year high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 344.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 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.