Canaccord Genuity Group Boosts PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Price Target to $55.00

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its target price upped by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 2.76% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PYPL. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.61.

PayPal Trading Down 0.3%

PayPal stock opened at $56.56 on Thursday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.23. PayPal has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.50. The company has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. 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 that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.96, for a total transaction of $536,170.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,076,687.32. The trade was 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,612 shares of company stock valued at $966,623. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Maia Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 0.8% during the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 25,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 3.3% in the first quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting 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.