PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Price Target Raised to $55.00

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its target price lifted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a hold rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

PYPL has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Daiwa Securities Group raised PayPal from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on PayPal from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.61.

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL stock opened at $56.56 on Thursday. PayPal has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $79.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.23.

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

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at $78,443.56. The trade was a 45.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Keller sold 10,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.96, for a total value of $536,170.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,687.32. This trade represents a 20.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Maia Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.5% during the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of PayPal by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 25,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The reported takeover interest from Stripe and Advent has fueled speculation that PayPal could be worth more than the current offer, with several analysts and investors arguing the bid is too low. Reuters: PayPal board sees Stripe-Advent offer as inadequate, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary suggests the bid could force a higher valuation for PYPL, potentially supporting further upside if negotiations continue or a competing offer emerges. Yahoo Finance: Cantor sees potential for higher PayPal offer as analysis suggests $70/share value
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal’s board has reportedly not formally responded yet, so the deal is still early-stage and subject to negotiation, financing, and regulatory risk. Yahoo Finance weekly review
• Negative Sentiment: The board is said to view the $53 billion proposal as inadequate, which could mean a longer path to any deal or no deal at all if a higher price does not materialize. PYMNTS: PayPal Board Calls $53 Billion Stripe-Advent Bid Inadequate

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.