PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Down 3.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) were down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $32.00. Rothschild & Co Redburn currently has a sell rating on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $38.46 and last traded at $39.08. Approximately 27,858,478 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 24,663,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.46.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on PYPL. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. This represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $249,054.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,022.72. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal announced an agentic AI travel partnership with Sabre and Mindtrip to create end-to-end, AI-driven booking and payments experiences — a potential new enterprise and travel vertical revenue stream if adoption scales. Sabre, PayPal, and Mindtrip partner to deliver the industry’s first end-to-end agentic AI experience for travel
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership change and strategic refocus — Enrique Lores will replace Alex Chriss as CEO and the company is pushing embedded payments and automotive use cases; that can reframe growth but raises near-term execution and transition risk. PayPal Shifts Gears With New CEO And Automotive Payments Push
• Negative Sentiment: A securities investigation by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check into potential federal securities law violations increases legal and disclosure risk for PayPal and adds investor uncertainty. PYPL Investigation: Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Encourages PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) Investors to Contact the Firm
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pressure intensified: Rothschild & Co Redburn cut its price target sharply and maintained a sell rating, signaling expectations for further downside and reinforcing bearish sentiment. Rothschild & Co Redburn adjusts price target on PayPal to $32 from $50, maintains sell rating
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple outlets and analysts turned more bearish after the Q4 earnings miss and downward EPS revisions; Zacks highlighted PayPal as a “Bear of the Day” and added PYPL to its Strong Sell list, reflecting cuts to near‑term earnings estimates. Bear of the Day: PayPal (PYPL)
• Negative Sentiment: Independent and sell‑side forecasts (eg. Cantor Fitzgerald, Truist coverage noted in recent reports) are pessimistic on PYPL’s near-term trajectory, reinforcing selling pressure ahead of operational clarity. Cantor Fitzgerald Issues Pessimistic Forecast for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in PayPal by 100.4% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87,524 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 8,700.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

PayPal Company Profile

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.