PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $86.94 and last traded at $86.60. 1,663,128 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 12,839,767 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PYPL shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of PayPal from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on PayPal in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Fifteen 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.42.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $85.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $85.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.45.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.13. PayPal had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The firm had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $387,435,000. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $810,000. FCG Investment Co acquired a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth $1,079,000. Equity Investment Corp raised its position in shares of PayPal by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,998,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $155,927,000 after acquiring an additional 67,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weil Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 41,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after purchasing an additional 17,003 shares during the period. 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.