PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on PYPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on PayPal from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on PayPal from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on PayPal from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on PayPal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.84.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.94. The stock had a trading volume of 8,839,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,674,411. The company has a market cap of $82.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. PayPal has a fifty-two week low of $50.25 and a fifty-two week high of $82.00.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $7.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that PayPal will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 180.7% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,946,460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $287,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3,184,160 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,511,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $493,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,925 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in PayPal by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,899,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,262,000 after acquiring an additional 687,940 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in PayPal in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,297,000. Finally, Greenvale Capital LLP raised its holdings in PayPal by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Greenvale Capital LLP now owns 2,675,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $155,230,000 after acquiring an additional 525,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.