PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded by Bank of America to “Buy” Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has $103.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $86.00.

PYPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PayPal from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on PayPal from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.70.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $90.75 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $90.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.44. PayPal has a 12 month low of $55.77 and a 12 month high of $93.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.77.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

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