Wedbush analyst Moshe Katri tacked on PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) to the “best ideas” list Friday and lifted his price target on the stock to US$100 from US$90.
“We believe ongoing/recent monetization efforts on both consumer and merchant-facing platforms, V/MA/ banking partnerships as well as its post-eBay separation potential opportunities could potentially accelerate top-line growth, while expanding margins,” Katri wrote.
Katri’s enthusiasm for the digital payments company coincides with PayPal’s recent acquisition spree.
Read: PayPal stumps up US$2.2bn for iZettle
Last month, PayPal took over the Stockholm-based point-of-sale payments provider iZettle to widen its reach in Europe and also revealed its intentions to acquire Jetlore, an AI-enabled prediction platform.
PayPal is typically strong in the online arena, particularly on eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) (which used to own the company) and the deal with iZettle will strengthen its presence in bricks-and-mortar establishments, particularly in Europe.
iZettle, which provides mobile card readers and offers digital payment services to small businesses, is used by almost half a million merchants.
PayPal shares are flat in early afternoon trade at US$83.74, but have risen 54% in the last year.