PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

PYPL has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on PayPal from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. William Blair downgraded PayPal from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on PayPal from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $74.94.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $61.98 on Wednesday. PayPal has a 1-year low of $50.25 and a 1-year high of $70.66. The stock has a market cap of $63.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.22.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 14.30%. The firm had revenue of $7.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that PayPal will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $272,616.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $861,620.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in PayPal by 77.5% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. American National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in PayPal by 65.8% in the 1st quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 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.