PayPal reports earnings after the close on Wednesday
PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) stock this morning received a price-target increase to $125 from $110 at Jefferies. The move shows confidence in PYPL shares extending their impressive start to the year, already up 27% in 2019 and they hit an all-time high of $109 last week. Technical data suggests more upside indeed is ahead, since Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White points out that the stock recently pulled back to the 30-day moving average, a trendline that's sparked an average one-month gain of 6.7% following the last seven pullbacks of this type.
The Venmo owner is scheduled to report earnings after the close tomorrow, April 24, and a positive showing could spark additional bull notes, going by the fact that PYPL stock, last quoted at $107.20, is already trading in line with its average 12-month price of $107.10. More broadly speaking, the options market is pricing in notable volatility for the event, expecting an 8.4% swing from the security for Thursday's trading. The stock has only made one post-earnings move larger than this in the past two years.
Another name receiving positive analyst attention this morning is LYFT Inc (NASDAQ:LYFT), as the stock's blackout period comes to an end. Several brokerage firms initiated bullish coverage on the ride-hailing firm, including Credit Suisse, which set an "outperform" rating and $95 price target -- the highest that's come through today. For what it's worth, Credit Suisse was one of the company's underwriters for its initial public offering (IPO) last month.
The equity was last seen trading down 0.6% at $60.60, though it's holding above the recently formed 10-day moving average. Back on its first day of trading, the stock traded as high as $88.60, and some options traders seem to expecting a rise back to and above those levels, judging by major open interest at the June 100 call.