PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Now Covered by Evercore ISI

Equities research analysts at Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an “in-line” rating and a $65.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.22% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price objective on PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Fifteen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.32.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $57.41 on Wednesday. PayPal has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $93.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $56.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $176,478.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. This represents a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 344.3% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.