Robert W. Baird Boosts PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Price Target to $80.00

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its price objective boosted by Robert W. Baird from $77.00 to $80.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of PayPal from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair downgraded shares of PayPal from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $75.03.

PayPal Stock Up 2.8 %

PYPL stock opened at $65.78 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.42. PayPal has a 12 month low of $50.25 and a 12 month high of $76.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that PayPal will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, Director Deborah M. Messemer sold 4,422 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $272,616.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $861,620.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $749,561,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in PayPal by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,976,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,449,000 after buying an additional 265,116 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,644,317 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $445,103,000 after purchasing an additional 904,804 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,668,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $225,283,000 after purchasing an additional 61,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 3,046,502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $176,789,000 after purchasing an additional 146,643 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Company Profile

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.