PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Raised to Hold at Truist Financial

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was upgraded by equities researchers at Truist Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $57.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $44.00. Truist Financial’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.96.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $56.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. PayPal has a fifty-two week low of $38.46 and a fifty-two week high of $79.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.07. The company has a market capitalization of $49.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.07. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,443.56. This trade represents a 45.74% 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 sold 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 17,388 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 4,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in PayPal by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Stripe and Advent International approached PayPal with a $53 billion takeover bid have boosted speculation that PYPL could be undervalued and attract a premium if negotiations progress. PayPal (PYPL) Faces Takeover Approach From Stripe And Advent International
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary suggesting PayPal trades at a relatively low earnings multiple and continues to repurchase shares has reinforced the view that the stock may still be attractive even without a deal. PayPal Trades at an 11x P/E and Repurchases 8% of Shares Annually. Should You Buy Before July 28 Q2 Earnings?
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming Q2 earnings coverage is keeping attention on PayPal’s fundamentals, but this is more of a preview than a new company-specific catalyst. Seeking Clues to Paypal (PYPL) Q2 Earnings? A Peek Into Wall Street Projections for Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Market reports noted that PayPal had not engaged with the takeover offer, which leaves uncertainty around whether a transaction will happen and may temper immediate upside expectations. PayPal (PYPL) Faces Takeover Approach From Stripe And Advent International

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal’s platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal’s portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree’s developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.