PayPal Holdings Could Offer Low-Risk Buying Opportunity

PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) posted stronger-than-expected Q2 2020 earnings in July, booking a profit of $1.07 per-share on an impressive 22% revenue increase to $5.26 billion. The accelerated transition from paper to digital payment transactions underpinned the blowout results, completing a breakout above short-term resistance in the mid-180s. The uptick reversed above 204 last week, setting up a potential low-risk buying opportunity in coming sessions.

Paypal Opens Millions Of New Accounts

Total Payment Volume (TPV) increased 29% to $222 billion while PayPal opened more than 21 million new accounts, marking the strongest quarterly growth since the company came public in 2015.  The outlook for future quarters is equally bullish, with the COVID-19 pandemic signaling a paradigm shift into contactless payment systems.  The stock could post outsized gains well into 2022, given these historic tailwinds.

President and CEO Dan Schulman discussed the bullish metrics, stating” we have seen substantial macro changes that we believe will have a lasting and profoundly positive impact on our business. The world has accelerated from physical to digital across multiple industries including retail. Merchants are embracing a digital-first strategy, and these trends have fueled the rapid rise of digital payments. These are durable and meaningful tailwinds.”

Wall Street And Technical Outlook

Wall Street rates PayPal as a ‘Strong Buy’, based upon 28 ‘Buy’ and 5 ‘Hold’ recommendations. No analysts are recommending that shareholders sell their positions at this time. Price targets currently range from a low of $155 to a street-high $235 while the stock is now trading $15 below the median $209 target. The company carries a lofty 89.53 price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), lowering odds for further upgrades until Q3 performance trends become more transparent.

PayPal has posted a return in excess of 60% since breaking out above 2019 resistance near 120 in May, setting off overbought technical readings that have added fuel to the current downturn. The earnings news triggered a small breakaway gap between 184.75 and 190 while the stock is now trading near 194. Selling momentum could increase into this major support zone, signaling a ‘buy-the-dip’ trade that could book opportune profits.