PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down previously from $83.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Truist Financial upped their target price on PayPal from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Stephens set a $65.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.05.

PayPal Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $56.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. PayPal has a 1 year low of $55.85 and a 1 year high of $93.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.75.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.21 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.64% and a net margin of 14.96%.The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. PayPal has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.270-1.310 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.390 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.22%.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total value of $615,303.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,366,486.71. The trade was a 20.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.87, for a total transaction of $860,875.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,799.21. This trade represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 36,156 shares of company stock worth $2,432,524 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 3,140 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $1,488,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 2,166 shares in the last quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. increased its position in shares of PayPal by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 680,852 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,748,000 after purchasing an additional 33,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 267,919 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,641,000 after buying an additional 16,429 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha publishes a bullish thesis arguing PYPL is “dirt cheap” with multiple near-term catalysts that could re-rate the stock (valuation, product leverage and optionality). PayPal: A Dirt Cheap Nexus Of Catalysts
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary (InsiderMonkey) highlights PayPal as a “depressed” buy—framing recent weakness as a buying opportunity despite TD Cowen trimming its price target—supporting a value/recovery trade narrative. Is PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) One of the Best Depressed Stocks to Buy Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Interactive Brokers will add support for PayPal USD (PYUSD) for account funding next week (after initial USDC support), which could help PYUSD adoption and indirectly benefit PayPal’s payments ecosystem. Interactive Brokers to allow stablecoins for account funding
• Negative Sentiment: Michael Burry published a long, critical analysis of the payments sector that specifically calls out risks for PayPal, adding headline risk and prompting investor caution. Michael Burry Sounds the Alarm on Payments Sector – XYZ, PYPL, FOUR
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler issues a pessimistic forecast for PYPL, signaling downside risks from operational or growth concerns that could pressure the stock. Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts continue to cut targets and ratings: TD Cowen lowered its price target to $65 (hold), Compass Point cut its target to $55 and kept a sell rating, and Daiwa Capital downgraded PYPL—these actions increase selling pressure and reduce near-term upside expectations. TD Cowen adjusts price target on PayPal to $65 Compass Point adjusts price target on PayPal to $55 Daiwa Capital downgrades PayPal Holdings (PYPL)

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal’s platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal’s portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree’s developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.