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

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price traded up 1.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $87.97 and last traded at $87.90. 1,438,577 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 12,956,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on PayPal from $74.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $86.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Fifteen investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.42.

PayPal Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $88.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.4% during the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 2,395 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of PayPal by 3.3% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in PayPal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc now owns 4,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in PayPal by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.