PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Still a Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $71.66 and last traded at $71.02. 2,033,384 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 10,887,618 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $92.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.03.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $70.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 13.04%. The business had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 111 Capital purchased a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $2,916,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in PayPal by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,207 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,174,000 after purchasing an additional 45,670 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 114,630 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,784,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,676,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.