The shares of PayPal (PYPL) are climbing after research firm Bernstein upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform, saying that the company is poised to outperform over the next several years.

LONG-TERM OUTPERFORMER: PayPal is probably at the beginning of a multiple year stretch of outperformance, contended Bernstein analyst Lisa Ellis. The company’s long-term outlook has improved because of its focus on “three critical drivers,” Ellis stated. Specifically, the company has improved its “Pay with PayPal” checkout button, while it has built partnerships with major companies including the credit card networks Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) as well as Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), making it more of “a collaborator” than a “disruptor,” Ellis wrote.

NEARER TERM CATALYSTS: PayPal will probably make an acquisition soon, “most likely of a European payments asset,” Ellis believes. Additionally, the company’s decision to pursue a partner for its credit business should generate about $4B-$5B of cash and reduce worries about its exposure to consumer credit, the analyst stated. Finally, recent price increases should help the company’s earnings beat expectations “over the next three to four quarters,” Ellis predicted.

TARGET: Ellis hiked her price target on PayPal to $61 from $46.

OTHER BULLS: On June 21, Pacific Crest upgraded PayPal to Overweight from Sector Weight. Analyst Josh Beck wrote that the company’s Choice and Venmo strategies were moving from investment to “harvesting mode.” On June 16, SunTrust analyst Andrew Jeffrey raised his price target on the shares to $60 from $53, saying that its “pricing, better-than-expected funding costs and operating leverage” could enable its results to beat expectations.He kept a Buy rating on the stock. And on June 28, Craig-Hallum’s Bradley Berning contended that the stock could double in three years, if the company continues enhancing its products and buying back shares and sells its credit business. He raised his price target on PayPal to $65 from $54 and kept a Buy rating on the shares.