Tap the digital trend with PayPal

Article Excerpt

PAYPAL HOLDINGS INC. $278 is a buy for aggressive investors. The company (Nasdaq symbol PYPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $333.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 13.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.paypal.com) processes online transactions on millions of websites, including purchases made on eBay, its former parent company. As of June 30, 2021, it had 403 million active users worldwide. In the second quarter of 2021, PayPal’s revenue jumped 18.6%, to $6.24 billion from $5.26 billion a year earlier. The higher revenue reflects a 40.3% jump in total payment volumes as travel volumes recovered from last year’s COVID-19 lockdowns. Earnings before unusual items gained 7.5%, to $1.15 a share from $1.07. PayPal expects its earnings for all of 2021 will rise about 21% to $4.70 a share. The stock, which has jumped 36% in the past year, trades at 59.1 times that forecast. That’s an acceptable p/e in light of the continuing shift to online…