Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Boosts Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in PayPal were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in PayPal in the third quarter worth $26,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research raised PayPal from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

PayPal stock opened at $70.86 on Wednesday. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.97 and a fifty-two week high of $93.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $70.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $77.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.92.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of PayPal 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% 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.