PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 2.4% – Time to Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

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 business’s 50 day moving average is $79.96 and its 200 day moving average is $80.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 344.3% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 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.