PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 1.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) rose 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $60.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $58.25 and last traded at $57.87. 7,981,680 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 19,481,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.21.

PYPL has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price target on PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised PayPal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on PayPal from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Frank Keller sold 732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total transaction of $42,529.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,042.70. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total value of $77,679.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,749.60. This represents a 37.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,612 shares of company stock worth $484,534. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal’s second-quarter results exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $1.38 versus the $1.28 consensus and revenue of $8.68 billion versus estimates of $8.47 billion. Revenue increased approximately 5% year over year, while management also raised its full-year outlook. Venmo monetization and Braintree expansion were cited as areas of progress. PayPal Shares Pause as Turnaround Momentum Collides With Overbought RSI
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its PayPal price target from $54 to $60 while maintaining a neutral rating. The higher target reflects improved earnings momentum, although it implies limited upside from recent trading levels. Benzinga Analyst Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Speculation continues that Stripe and Advent could pursue PayPal, and market commentators are discussing whether other potential bidders might emerge. No transaction has been confirmed, so the takeover narrative may support the stock but remains uncertain. Who Else Could Make a Bid for PayPal?
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal was among the financial sector’s strongest performers in July, gaining roughly 30%. The sizable rally has improved sentiment but also leaves the shares more vulnerable to profit-taking. Financial Sector Tops the S&P 500 in July
• Negative Sentiment: Technical analysts say PYPL is approaching overbought conditions following its turnaround rally, potentially limiting near-term gains despite the earnings beat and improved outlook. A separate recession comparison concluded that American Express would likely prove more resilient than PayPal in a downturn, highlighting macroeconomic risk to the fintech. Which Financial Stock Would Hold Up Better in a Recession: PayPal or American Express?
• Negative Sentiment: Investor discussions also flagged Morgan Stanley’s underweight downgrade and reduced price target, alongside substantial net insider selling over the past six months. These signals may temper enthusiasm even as operating results improve.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $949,758,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 67.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,614,720 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,158,554,000 after acquiring an additional 10,356,256 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 227.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,804,208 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $624,364,000 after acquiring an additional 9,590,488 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in PayPal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,276,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in PayPal by 355.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,967,170 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $224,665,000 after acquiring an additional 3,875,688 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $49.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.03 and its 200-day moving average is $47.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. PayPal had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The company had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is 10.59%.

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.