PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Gets Price Target Bump from Sanford C. Bernstein

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its price objective upped by Sanford C. Bernstein from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.71% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $50.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.37.

PayPal Trading Up 0.4%

PYPL stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.99. 2,193,980 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,885,365. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $67.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.35 and a 200-day moving average of $50.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $8.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 13.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.96, for a total transaction of $253,715.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,723.68. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.43, for a total value of $255,643.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,304,058.81. This represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,437 shares of company stock valued at $768,417. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 984.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 50,027 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,628,000 after acquiring an additional 45,413 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 376,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,799,000 after purchasing an additional 33,744 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 10,852 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 2,470 shares during the period. Legacy Trust lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 55,628 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 9.9% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 104,623 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,496,000 after purchasing an additional 9,424 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key PayPal News

Here’s some of the latest news about PYPL:

• Positive Sentiment: Venmo introduced receipt scanning to itemize shared purchases and calculate each person’s share, including tax and tip. The feature could make the app more useful for group payments and encourage engagement, though its financial impact is not yet clear. Venmo Adds Receipt Scanning to Simplify Bill Splitting
• Negative Sentiment: Germany’s antitrust authority said PayPal’s restrictions on merchants’ ability to surcharge customers for payment fees may impede competition. The scrutiny raises regulatory risk and could lead to constraints on PayPal’s merchant practices if authorities take further action. German antitrust authority says PayPal practices may restrict competition

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc. operates a global digital payments platform that helps consumers and businesses send and receive payments online and in person. Its services include PayPal checkout and digital wallets, Venmo peer-to-peer payments, Braintree payment processing for merchants, and Xoom international money transfers. The company traces its roots to Confinity, founded in 1998, and the online payments business that developed through its merger with X.com. PayPal became part of eBay in 2002 and was spun off as an independent public company in 2015.