Canaccord Genuity Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.92% from the stock’s current price.

PYPL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on PayPal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on PayPal from $50.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.26.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $55.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.97 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $79.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.19.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total transaction of $196,194.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,260.18. This represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This trade represents a 9.83% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Maia Wealth LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 0.8% during 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 boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 3.3% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 buyout proposal provides an immediate valuation floor and signals that strategic buyers see value in PayPal’s consumer network, including Venmo. Reuters: Stripe, Advent offer to buy PayPal for more than $53 billion, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: The offer price is well above where the stock had been trading, encouraging traders to bid up shares on hopes of a larger deal or higher final price. WSJ: Stripe and Private-Equity Firm Advent Offer to Buy PayPal
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary argues the offer may undervalue PayPal, creating uncertainty about whether the current bid will be accepted or whether negotiations could push the price higher. NYT: PayPal Receives $53 Billion Takeover Offer Involving Stripe
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports also highlight that regulatory scrutiny could complicate a deal because it would combine two major digital payments players. PYMNTS: Stripe’s PayPal Bid Puts Checkout Economics in Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Critics and some analysts have called the bid a “lowball” offer, suggesting PayPal may be worth more than the current proposal if a bidding war emerges. Barron’s: PayPal Stock Jumps on Report of $53 Billion Takeover Approach

PayPal Company Profile

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.