PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded to “Hold” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PYPL has been the subject of several other reports. KGI Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on PayPal from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on PayPal from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.01.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $43.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $44.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.25. PayPal has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total value of $66,128.02. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,443.56. The trade was a 45.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 20,612 shares of company stock worth $966,623 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 14.2% in the first quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,197 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. increased its position in shares of PayPal by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. now owns 77,369 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,499,000 after purchasing an additional 23,921 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 350,802 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,867,000 after purchasing an additional 86,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the first quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal was upgraded by Piper Sandler to “hold”, suggesting the firm sees less downside than before and that the valuation may be approaching a more balanced level. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted PayPal as cheap on a valuation basis, with its forward P/E near 8.2, which could attract value-oriented investors if growth stabilizes. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage on PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin push and expansion into 70 markets pointed to new product opportunities that could improve merchant payments and support longer-term growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary comparing Shift4 Payments vs. PayPal framed PYPL as a profitable global payments platform, but also noted execution and competitive challenges that remain relevant for investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary suggested PayPal is still in the middle of a turnaround, with cost savings and technology modernization supporting the long-term thesis, but not yet removing near-term uncertainty.
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal shares fell as investors remained cautious about growth, margin pressure, and competition, with concern that estimates may still need to come down. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reiterated a “sell” rating and raised its price target only modestly to $41, reinforcing a cautious Wall Street view on the stock. Article Title

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.