PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 0.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price traded up 0.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $70.81 and last traded at $70.54. 1,629,331 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 10,906,444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PYPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. 111 Capital acquired a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,916,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in PayPal by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,207 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,174,000 after acquiring an additional 45,670 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 114,630 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,784,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $27,676,000. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $2,560,000. 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.