Sanford C. Bernstein Lowers PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) to Market Perform

Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $80.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $75.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of PayPal from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus raised shares of PayPal from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $76.47.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $80.51 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. PayPal has a twelve month low of $50.25 and a twelve month high of $82.00.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.20. PayPal had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 22.82%. The firm had revenue of $7.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CX Institutional lifted its stake in PayPal by 47.1% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,366 shares during the last quarter. Harrington Investments INC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 31,304 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,443,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 21.5% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 88,550 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,910,000 after buying an additional 15,667 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth $177,000. Finally, Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth $807,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.